i 



\ 

i 



THRILLING ADYENTUEES 



AJUONG TH5 



INDIANS: 



COMPRISING 



€ju 3fiii5t Emnrkalik l^mml SurtEtira nf tots to 
tlpe (gnrlq ^eMhe ?Sar0, 

AB TOLL AS Oy 

INCIDENTS IN THE RECENT INDIAN HOSTILITIES IN 
MEXICO AND TEXAS. 



By JOHN FROST, LL.D. 

AUTHOB 0? " nCTOBIAl HI6T0ET OP THE UmTZD STATES," " PICTOEIAL HIBTOEY OF 
yjOZLD," &C. Ac. 



ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEEOUS ENQRAVINaS, 
fBOU DESIGNS BY W. CBOOME AND OIHEB DISTINQUISHED ABTI8T8. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BRADLEY. 
LOWELL: L. P. CROWN. 
1850. 



E^TEKED ACCOEUryG TO ACT OP Co>-GRESS, THE 1EAE, 1849, EX JOHN FROST, 

ur THE Clerk's Opfice oe the District Couei eok the Eastee>- District of 
PEinrsYiyAxiA. 



8IERE0TIPED BY E. JOHKSOS AID CO. 
PHILADELPHIA. 



PEEFACE. 



The folloTnng narratives have been carefully compiled 
from a large mass of material "which has been accumulated 
dui'ing the many years which the author has devoted to the 
study of American history. They comprise the incidents 
which were considered most striking and remarkable, and 
best calculated to afford the reader an adequate idea of the 
Indians, their peculiar modes of warfare, and their general 
character. 

It is a remarkable fact that the Indians, as a mass, remain 
now nearly in the same state as they were found by the first 
discoverers of the New World. In religion, manners, and 
customs, they are as wild and savage as ever. The western 
tribes hunt with the bow and arrow ; and still make war with 
the spear and shield. Certain tribes originally settled east 
of the Mississippi, have become to a certain extent Christian- 
ized and civilized. Their history and present state would 
form the subject of a very interesting volume by itself — a 
volume which is a desideratum in American literature. But 
the wild western Indians are still heathen and still savage. 
Unless an enlightened public sentiment shall be awakened, 
and the benevolent exertions of the American people shall be 
interposed to civilize and reclaim these tribes, there is every 
reason to fear that they will ultimately become extinct ; so 
that a century hence not a living representative will remain 
of all the powerful nations which formerly possessed this 
country. Ignorance, superstition, and mutual dissension 

3 



4 



PREFACE. 



among the tribes are rapidly wasting them away. This re- 
sult should not be permitted by the Christian nation which 
owes to them and their dead ancestors the noble domain 
which it occupies. The facts recorded in the following pages 
exhibit traits of character in the Indians, which command 
admii'ation and awaken sympathy, united with other traits 
which excite in the well regulated mind the liveliest pity for 
their unhappy and misguided state. They might be reclaimed, 
civilized, and saved. But while they are regarded as enemies, 
possessing desii^able lands, or as mere hunters of furs for 
white people, subjects of conquest or speculation merely, 
there is little hope for the poor Indian. Here and there a 
voice is raised in their defence, but selfishness and prejudice 
are many-tongued ; and the cry that the Indians cannot be 
reclaimed and must perish, is the prevailing one. It is to be 
hoped that some able and eloquent defender may yet take up 
their cause, and that the blessings of civilization may here- 
after preserve a remnant of the once numerous and powerful 
aborigines of North America. 



CONTENTS. 



Pass 

Introduction 9 

Captivity and Escape of ^Irs. Frances Scott; of Washington 

County, Virginia - - 13 

Singular Narrative of the Adventures of Captain Isaac Steward, 

who probably saw the gold mines of California before 1782 21 

Singular Prowess of a Woman in a Combat with Indians - - 24 

Thrilling Incidents of Border Warfare in Pennsylvania - 28 

The Ranger's Adventure 82 

Sufferings of Butler, the American Mazeppa, among the Indians 38 

Heroism of a Woman 43 

Escape of Mrs. Davis from the Indians 45 

Singular Execution for Murder ------ 49 

An Extraordinary Duel - - 61 

The Maiden's Rock 55 

Shenandoah 63 

Indian Gratitude - -- -- -- -66 

Daring Feat of a Girl during an Assault by Indians - - 72 

The Faithful Nurse 76 

Courage and Generosity of Pe-ta-la-sha-roo - - - - 80 

Magnanimity of a Sioux -------85 

Noble Action of Lieutenant Beall 86 

Massacre at Taos, New Mexico, and Death of Governor Bent 92 

Adventures of Colonel Hays with the Indians - - - 95 

Poe's Adventure with two Indians 100 

a2 5 



6 CONTENTS. 

Paob 

Captain Reid's Battle witli the Lipan Indians - - - - 104 
Fight of Colonel Kinney with the Camanche Indians - - 107 

Attack on Cherry Yalley - 110 

Major McCullocFs Adventure with the Camanches - - 112 
Attack upon American Train Companies - - - _ 113 
Massacre of American Volunteers by Indians - - - 117 

The Rose of Guadaloupe - - 119 

Indian Fishing in New Brunswick ----- 124 
Thrilling Adventure at an Indian Burial-place - - - 130 
A Striking Scene - - 134 

Treeing a Bear - - -137 

Insurrection of the Puehlos in New Mexico - - - 141 
Singular Freak of a Creek Indian ------ 147 

Irruption of the Camanches into Chihuahua - - - 149 
Night Attack by the Pawnees - - - - - -151 

Carson^s Adventures with the Indians - - - - 154 

Battles of American Yolunteers with Indians - - - - 159 

Indian Cruelty to a Prisoner 164 

Striking Instance of Indian Patriotism - - - - - 168 

Indian Sense of Propriety 170 

Personal Encounter with two Indians - - - - - 172 

The Prophet of the Alleghany 176 

Tecumseh 184 

M^Dougal and the Indians - - - - - -190 

Paugus and Chamberlain ------- 198 

Indian Children 209 

Wanou and the English Ofl&cer 215 

Burning of Hanna's Town - - - - - - 218 

The Lost Sister of Wyoming ------ 227 

Disaster of a Party of Missouri Traders - - - - 233 

Hunting the Moose 236 



CONTENTS. 7 

The Kifleman of Chippewa - - 243 

The Indian and the WHd Turkey 253 

The Indian and the Bear 259 

Attack on Haverhill 260 

Bobasheela 266 

Remarkable Escape from the Indians - - - - - 281 

Massacre at Mimms's Fort ------- 285 

American Forces attacked by Camanches - - - - 290 

Death of Captain Smith, a Santa Fe Trader - - - - 291 

Adventure vnth a Party of Yutas ----- 292 

Hunting the Buffalo by Stratagem - - - - - 297 

Wonderful Escape of Tom Higgins 298 

March of the Sioux 806 

The Murderer's Creek 309 

The Scalp-Dance 314 

Adventure of an Indian "Woman 818 

An Indian Lodge - -- -- -- - 327 

Silouee 329 

A Buffalo Hunt 338 

Sufferings of Captain Bard^s Family 343 

Black Bird 346 

Indian Pipe-Dance 848 

Escape from Torture 851 

Perilous Adventure of Captain Brady - - - - 353 

Story of Indian Revenge 354 

Mandan Bull Dance 857 

Singular Scene in an Indian Council 869 

Narrative of an Escape from the Indians - - - - 872 

Early Settlers of Bedford County 879 

Indian Attack on Dover, New Hampshire - - - - 881 
Indian Gratitude for Favours - - - - - -387 



8 CONTENTS. 

Escape from Indians 888 

Murder of a Family in New Hampshire - - - - 391 

Dance of Ojibbeway Indians (in London) - - - - 392 

Murder of a Family in Tennessee - - - - - 402 

Depredations by the Sioux - 404 

Indian Horsemanship 408 

Battle of Oriskany - 412 

Fight between the Crow and the Blackfeet Indians- - - 415 

Savage Patriotism 419 

Farmer's Brother - - - - - - - 421 

Indian Bear Hunt - - 424 

The Catastrophe - - - - - - - - -429 

Story of G-eorge Ash 432 
The Sioux^ or Dacotas, and their Chief Wahktageli, or Big 

Soldier - - - » - - » ~ - . 441 



In the period of near 
two centuries and a half, 
which has elapsed since the 
first settlement of North 
America by the British 
colonists, there have oc- 
curred a great number of 
wars between the white 
people and the Indians, 
both parties struggling with 
equal animosity for the pos- 
session of the soil. The re- 
sult has been the almost 
total extermination of the 
Indians; and the present 
peaceful possession by the 

2 



10 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



whites of what was once the Indian's home. In these 
wars there has been much of thrilling and romantic- 
adventure ; many examples of courage, fortitude, con- 
tempt of danger, and heroic endurance of suffering — 
examples which serve at once to illustrate the hardy 
character of our ancestors, and the marked and origi- 
nal traits of their savage enemies. The narratives 
of these adventures have been fortunately preserved 
in many instances. Some of them are given by the 
sufferers themselves ; and others were so conspicuous 
as to find a place in local or national annals. 

They abound in scenes of adventure and danger, to 
which it is hardly possible to find a parallel in the 
annals of war. Such scenes display traits of char- 
acter in more vivid colours than does the most 
laboured description. Cruelty, at which the heart 
sickens ; vindictiveness, which knows no end and no 
mitigation; skill, ingenuity and endurance in war; 
heroism, gratitude to friends, treachery toward ene- 
mies, stoicism, keen observation, and the most deli- 
cate sense of honour — all these, the characteristics 
of an Indian, are to be studied, not in the pages 
of the moralist, but in the narrative of adventures. 
But in all this there is something more than even a 
display of character and a tale of adventure. There 
is a moral to be learned. The qualities which we 
abhor in a hostile Indian are not peculiar to Indians. 
They are possessed by all men, they exist in all 
societies. Civilization modifies, perhaps lessens them 
in the white man ; and if by exhibiting the evils of 
their unlimited license in the poor Indian, we could 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



11 



teach our own people to prize the blessings of civili- 
zation ; if we could induce the young to apply those 
blessings to the extirpation of their own wild pas- 
sions, then would the moral of our " Thrilling Ad- 
ventures" be complete. It has been our aim to accom- 
plish this object. We have endeavoured to display 
the character of the Indian and his enemies in their 
true colours, and to draw from the picture a useful 
moral. Without further preamble we now proceed to 
our narratives. 



On Wednesday the 29th day of June, 1785, late 
in the evening, a large company of armed men passed 
the house, on their way to Kentucky: some part of 
whom encamped within two miles. Mr. Scott, Uvmg 
on a frontier part, generally made the family watch- 
ful ; but on this calamitous day, after so large a body 
of men had passed, shortly after night, he lay down 
m his bed, and imprudently left one of the doors of 
his house open ; the children were also in bed and 
asleep. Mrs. Scott was nearly undressed, when, to 
her unutterable astonishment and horror, she saw, 
rushing in through the door that was left open, painted 
savages with presented arms, raising a hideous shriek. 
Mr. Scott being awake, instantly jumped out of his 
bed, but was immediately fired at : he forced his way 
through the middle of the enemy, and got out of the 



14 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



door, but fell a few paces from thence. An Indian 
seized Mrs. Scott, and ordered her to a particular spot, 
and not to move : others stabbed and cut the throats 
of the three youngest children in their bed, and after- 
wards lifted them up and dashed them down on the 
floor, near the mother. The eldest, a beautiful girl of 
eight years old, awoke, and escajoed out of the bed, 
and ran to her parent, and, with the most plaintive 
accents, cried, " 0 mamma ! mamma ! save me." The 
mother, in the deepest anguish of spirit, and with a 
flood of tears, entreated the savages to spare her child ; 
but, with a brutal fierceness, they tomahawked and 
stabbed her in the mother's arms. Adjacent to Mr. 
Scott's dwelling-house another family lived, of the 
name of Ball. The Indians also attacked them at 
the same instant they did Mr. Scott's ; but the door 
being shut, the enemy fired into the house through an 
opening between two logs, and killed a young lad, and 
then endeavoured to force the door open ; but a sur- 
viving brother fired through the door, and the enemy 
desisted, and went ofl" : the remaining part of the 
family ran out of the house and escaped. In Mr. 
Scott's house were four good rifles well loaded, and a 
good deal of clothing and furniture, part of which 
belonged to people that had left it on their way to 
Kentucky. The Indians loaded themselves with the 
plunder, being thirteen in number, then speedily made 
ofi", and continued travelling all night. Next morning 
their chief allotted to each man his share ; and de- 
tached nine of' a party to steal horses from the in- 
habitants on Clinch. The eleventh day after Mrs 



CAPTIVITY OF MRS. SCOTT. 



15 



Scott's captivity, the four Indians that had her in 
charge, stopped at a place fixed upon for a rendez- 
vous, and to hunt, being now in a great want of pro- 
visions. Three went out, and the chief, being an old 
man, was left to take care of the prisoner, who, by 
this time, expressed a willingness to proceed to the 
Indian towns, which seemed to have the desired effect 
of lessening her keeper's vigilance. In the day time, 
as the old man was graining a deer skin, the captive, 
pondering on her situation, and anxiously looking for 
an opportunity to make her escape, took the resolu- 
tion, and went to the Indian carelessly, asked liberty 
to go a small distance to a stream of water, to wash 
the blood off her apron, that had remained besmeared 
since the fatal night of the murder of her little 
daughter. He told her in the English tongue "go 
along she then passed by him, his face being in a 
contrary direction from that she was going, and he 
very busy. She, after getting to the water, proceeded 
on without delay, made to a high barren mountain, 
and travelled until late in the evening, when she 
came down into the valley, in search of the track she 
had been taken along ; hoping thereby to find the way 
back, without the risk of being lost, and perishing 
with hunger in uninhabited parts. On coming across 
the valley to the river side, supposed to be the east- 
erly branch of Kentucky river, she observed in the 
sand, tracks of two men that had gone up the river, 
and had just returned. She concluded these to have 
been her pursuers, which excited emotions of grati- 
tude and thankfulness to Divine providence for so 



16 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



timely a deliverance. Being without any provisions, 
having no kind of weapon or tool to assist her in 
getting any, and being almost destitute of clothing, 
also knowing that a vast tract of rugged high moun- 
tains intervened, between where she was and the 
inhabitants eastwardiy, and the distance of the Ken- 
tucky settlements unknown, and she almost as ignor- 
ant as a child of the method of steering through the 
woods, her situation was truly desolate. But certain 
death, either by hunger or wild beasts, seemed prefer- 
able to being in the power of human beings, who 
had excited in her mind such horror. She addressed 
Heaven for protection, and, taking courage, proceeded 
onward. After travelling three days, she had nearly 
met with the Indians, as she supposed, that had been 
sent to Clinch to steal horses, but providentially hear- 
ing their approach, she concealed herself behind a tree 
until the enemy had passed. This, giving a fresh 
alarm, and her mind being filled with consternation, 
she got lost, proceeding backwards and forwards for 
several days. At length she came to a river, that 
seemed to come from the east; concluding it was 
Sandy river, she accordingly resolved to trace it to its 
source, which is adjacent to the Clinch settlement. 
After proceeding up the same several days, she came 
to where the river runs through the great Laurel 
mountain, where is a prodigious water-fall, and nu- 
merous high craggy cliffs along the water edge ; that 
way seemed impassable, the mountain steep and diffi- 
cult ; however, our mournful traveller concluded that 
the latter way was the best. She therefore ascended 



Mrs. Scott in danger of recapture. 



CAPTIVITY OF MRS. SCOTT. 



19 



for some time, but coming to a range of inaccessible 
rocks, she turned her course towards the foot of the 
mountain and the river side. After getting into a deep 
gully, and passing over several high steep rocks, she 
reached the river side, where, to her inexpressible 
affliction, she found that a perpendicular rock, or 
rather one that hung over, of fifteen or twenty feet 
high, formed the bank. Here a solemn pause took 
place ; she essayed to return, but the height of the 
steeps and rocks she had descended over, prevented 
her. She then returned to the edge of the precipice, 
and viewed the bottom of it, as the certain spot where 
she must quickly end all her troubles, or remain on the 
top to pine away with hunger, or be devoured by wild 
beasts. After serious meditation, and devout exercises, 
she determined on leaping from the height, and accord- 
ingly jumped off. Although the place where she had to 
alight was covered with uneven rocks, not a bone was 
broken ; but, being exceedingly stunned with the fall, 
she remained unable to proceed for some space of time. 
The dry season caused the river to be shallow — she 
travelled in it, and, where she could, by its edge, until 
she got through the mountain, a distance probably 
of several miles. After this, as she was travelling 
along the bank of the river, a venomous snake bit 
her on the ankle. She had strength to kill it, and 
knowing its kind, concluded that death must soon 
overtake her. By this time, Mrs. Scott was reduced 
to a mere skeleton with fatigue, hunger, and grief; 
probably this state of her body was the means of pre- 
serving her from the effects of the poison : be that as 



20 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



it may, so it was, that very little pain succeeded the 
bite, and what little swelling there was fell into 
her feet. Our wanderer now left the river, and after 
proceedmg a good distance, she came to where the 
valley parted into two, each leading a different course. 
Here a painful suspense again took place : the poor 
woman was almost exhausted, and certain, if she was 
led far out of the way, she would never see a human 
creature. During this suspense, a beautiful bird 
passed close by her, fluttering along the ground, and 
went out of sight up one of the valleys. This drew 
her attention, and whilst considering what it might 
mean, another bird of the same appearance in like 
manner fluttered past her, and took the same valley 
the other had done. This determined her choice of the 
way ; and on the second day after, which was the 11th 
of August, she reached that settlement on Clinch called 
New Garden ; whereas (she is since informed by wood- 
men) had she taken the other valley, it would have 
led her back towards the Ohio. Mrs. Scott relates, 
that the Indians told her, that the party was com- 
posed of four different nations, two of whom she 
thinks they named Delawares and Mingoes. 

vShe further relates, that during her wandering from 
the 10th of July to the 11th of August, she had no 
other subsistence but chewing and swallowing the 
juice of young cane stalks, sassafras leaves, and some 
other plants she did not know the names of; that, on 
her journey, she saw buffaloes, elks, deer, and fre- 
quently bears and wolves ; not one of which, although 
some passed very near her, offered to do her the least 



CAPTAIN ISAAC STEWART. 



21 



harm. One day a bear came near her, with a young 
fawn in his mouth, and, on discovering her he dropped 
his prey and ran off. Hunger prompted her to go 
and take the flesh and eat it : but, on reflection, she 
desisted, thinking that the bear might return and de- 
vour her ; besides she had an aversion to taste raw 
flesh. Mrs. Scott long continued in a low state of 
health, remaining inconsolable for the loss of her 
family, particularly bewailing the cruel death of her 
little daughter. 



This account we find in a selection of narratives of 
outrages committed by the Indians, published at Car- 
lisle by Archibald Loudon in 1808. A memorandum 
by Dr. Mease, in the margin, informs us that he was 
from South Carolina ; and the doctor gives a reference 
to the Columbian Magazine, vol. i. p. 320, in proof. 
Loudon gives the narrative as taken from Stewart's 
own mouth in March, 1782. It appears to us quite 
clear that Stewart must have actually visited the 
mines of the Sacramento and Gila, which are now 
attracting so much attention. This narrative is as 
follows : — 

I was taken prisoner about fifty miles to the west- 
ward of Fort Pitt, about eighteen years ago, by the 
Indians, and was carried by them to the Wabash, with 



22 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



manv more white men, wlio were executed with cir- 
cumstances of horrid barbarity ; it was my good for- 
tune to call forth the sympathy of Eose, called the 
good woman of the town, who was permitted to re- 
deem me from the flames, by giving, as my ransom, 
a horse. 

After remaining two years in bondage amongst the 
Indians, a Spaniard came to the nation, having been 
sent from Mexico on discoveries. He made applica- 
tion to the chiefs for redeeming me and another white 
man in the like situation, a native of "Wales, named 
John Davey; which they complied with, and we 
took our departure in company with the Spaniard, 
and travelled to the westward, crossing the Missis- 
sippi near la Riviere Rouge, or Red River, up which 
we travelled seven hundred miles, when we came to 
a nation of Indians remarkably white, and whose 
hair was of a reddish colour, at least mostly so ; they 
lived on the bank of a small river that empties itself 
into the Red River, which is called the River Post. 
In the morning of the day after our arrival amongst 
these Indians, the "Welchman informed me, that he 
was determined to remain with them, giving as a 
reason that he understood their language, it being 
very little different from the Welch. My curiosity 
was excited very much by this information, and I 
went with my companion to the chief men of the 
town, who informed him (in a language I had no 
knowledge of, and which had no afiinity to that of 
any other Indian tongue I ever heard) that their fore- 
fathers of this nation came from a foreign country, 



CAPTAIN ISAAC STEWART. 



23 



and landed on the east side of the Mississippi, describ- 
ing particularly the country now called West Florida, 
and that on the Spaniards taking possession of Mexico, 
they fled to their then abode ; and as a proof of the 
truth of what he advanced, he brought forth rolls of 
parchment, which were carefully tied up in otter skins, 
on which were large characters, written with blue ink ; 
the characters I did not understand, and the Welch- 
man being unacquainted with letters, even of his own 
language, I was not able to know the meaning of the 
writing. They are a bold, hardy, intrepid people, 
very warhke, and the women beautiful, when com- 
pared with other Indians. 

We left this nation, after being kindly treated and 
requested to remain among them, being only two in 
number, the Spaniard and myself, and we continued 
our course up the waters of the Eed Eiver, till we 
came to a nation of Indians, called Windots, that 
never had seen a white man before, and who were un- 
acquainted with the use of fire-arms. On our way, 
we came to a transparent stream, which, to our great 
surprise, we found to descend into the earth, and, at 
the foot of a ridge of mountains, disappeared ; it was 
remarkably clear, and, near to it, we found the bones 
of two animals, of such a size that a man might walk 
under the ribs, and the teeth were very heavy. 

The nation of Indians who had never seen a white 
man lived near the source of the Eed Eiver, and 
there the Spaniard discovered, to his great joy, gold 
dust in the brooks and rivulets ; and being informed 
by the Indians, that a nation lived farther west, who 



24 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



were very rich, and whose arrows were pointed with 
gold, we set out in the hope of reaching their country, 
and travelled about five hundred miles, till we came 
to a ridge of mountains, which we crossed, and from 
which the streams run due west, and at the foot of 
the mountains, the Spaniard gave proofs of joy and 
great satisfaction, having found gold in great abun- 
dance. I was not acquainted with the nature of the 
ore, but I lifted up what he called gold dust from the 
bottom of the little rivulets issuing from the cavities 
of the rocks, and it had a yellow cast, and was re- 
markably heavy; but so much was the Spaniard 
satisfied, he relinquished his plan of prosecuting his 
journey, being perfectly convinced that he had found 
a country full of gold. 

On our return he took a diflerent route, and, when 
we reached the Mississippi, we went in a canoe to the 
mouth of the Missouri, where we found a Spanish 
post ; there I was discharged by the Spaniard, went 
to the country of the Chickesaws, from thence to the 
Cherokees, and soon reached Ninety-six, in South 
Carolina. 



The lady, who is the heroine of this story, is named 
Experience Bozarth. She lived on a creek called 
Dunkard creek, in the south-west corner of West- 
moreland county, Pennsylvania. About the middle 




Mrs. Bozarth defending her Dwelling 



SINGULAR PROWESS OF A WOMAN. 27 

of March, 1779, two or three families who were afraid 
to stay at home, gathered to her house, and there 
stayed ; looking on themselves to be safer than when 
all scattered about at their own houses. 

On a certain day some of the children thus col- 
lected, came running in from play in great haste, say- 
ing, there were ugly red men. One of the men in 
the house stepped to the door, where he received a 
ball in the side of his breast, which caused him to fall 
back into the house. The Indian was immediately in 
over him, and engaged with another man who was 
in the house. The man tossed the Indian on a bed, 
and called for a knife to kill him. (Observe these 
were all the men that were in the house.) Now Mrs. 
Bozarth appears the only defence, who, not finding a 
knife at hand, took up an axe that lay by, and with 
one blow cut out the brains of the Indian. At that 
instant, (for all was instantaneous,) a second Indian 
entered the door, and shot the man dead, who was 
engaged with the Indian on the bed. Mrs. Bozarth 
turned to this second Indian, and with her axe gave 
him several large cuts, some of which let his entrails 
appear. He bawled out. Murder, murder. On this, 
sundry other Indians (who had hitherto been fully 
employed, killing some children out of doors) came 
rushing to his relief ; one of whose heads Mrs. Bo- 
zarth clove in two with her axe, as he stuck it in at 
the door, which laid him flat upon the soil. Another 
snatched hold of the wounded, bellowing fellow, and 
pulled him out of doors, and Mrs. Bozarth, with the 
assistance of the man who was first shot in the door. 



28 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and by this time a little recovered, shut the door after 
them, and made it fast, where they kept garrison for 
several days, the dead white man and dead Indian 
both in the house with them, and the Indians about 
the house besieging them. At length they were re- 
lieved by a party sent for that purpose. 

This whole affair, to the shutting of the door, was 
not perhaps more than three minutes in acting. 



In the year 1779 the Indians began to make in- 
roads into the settlements of Northumberland county, 
and coming to the house of Andrew Armstrong, made 
him prisoner. His wife escaped by concealing herself 
under a bed until after they were gone. 

About this time two families, flying from the In- 
dians, were attacked at a place called Warrior's Eun. 
The men, Durham and Macknight, were behind, driv- 
ing their cattle ; their wives, riding before, were fired 
upon by the Indians. Mrs. Durham's child was shot 
dead in her arms, at sight of which she fainted, and 
fell from her horse ; the other, being unhurt, rode on 
and escaped; the men, being alarmed, fled precipi- 
tately, and escaped. While Mrs. Durham remained 
insensible, she was scalped, but reviving, escaped to a 
place of safety, and recovered. 

A party of Indians having made two girls prisoners 
in Buffalo valley, passed on to Penn's valley, where 
they discovered, from the top of a mountain, a com- 



BORDER WARFARE IN PENNSYLVANIA. SI 



pany of reapers in a valley. Leaving the girls with 
one Indian, they proceeded to attack the reapers. 
After they were gone, the Indian lay down to rest ; 
soon afterwards it began to rain, and one of the girls, 
on pretence of sheltering him, covered him with 
leaves ; then seizing an axe, she sunk it into his head. 
The girls then fled towards the reapers, but being dis- 
covered by the Indians, they were fired at, and one 
of them killed; the other escaped and gave the reap- 
ers information of the enemy. A company was col- 
lected and went in pursuit of them; but they 
retreated, carrying the dead Indian with them. 

The inhabitants of Northumberland county, in 
order to defend themselves from the Indians, built 
Freelan's, Bosly's, Bready's, Wallace's, and Broome's 
forts. Captain Bready was killed while bringing pro- 
visions to the garrison. By the assistance of these 
forts, the incursions of the Indians were more effect- 
ually opposed. 

A party of Indians, in one of their incursions into 
Northumberland, captured Peter Pence, another man, 
and a boy. After travelUng through snow till night, 
and being much fatigued, they lay down. When the 
Indians were all asleep. Pence got his hands loose, and 
communicated his design of escaping to the other man, 
who refused to assist him ; he then instructed the boy 
in the scheme he proposed to execute. They first 
made themselves masters of all the guns ; then placing 
the boy at a small distance from them with the gun, 
Pence with a tomahawk, as soon as the boy fired, 
fell upon them and killed two, the rest started up and 



32 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



fled precipitately, without their guns. Information 
was afterwards received, that those who fled were all 
starved to death but one ; being destitute of the means 
of procuring provisions. The two men and the boy 
returned in safety. 



A correspondent of the Knickerbocker, after de^ 
scribing a visit to the residence of a very old gentle- 
man, Dr. Blank, in the western part of Massachusetts, 
relates the following details of an adventure, during 
the old French war : 

At nineteen years of age, he joined the army of 
the provinces that in 1755 essayed to take Crown 
Point from the French. He marched to the lakes 
with Colonel Ephraim Williams, than whom a more 
gallant man never breathed the air of New England. 
The doctor fought under his command at Lake George, 
on the memorable eighth of September ; saw, or ima- 
gined he saw, the fall of his brave leader ; and is quite 
sure that he put a bullet into the French oflicer, Mons. 
St. Pierre. The next year he joined Rogers' company 
of Rangers, and was stationed with a party of them at 
Fort Ann, not far from where Whitehall now stands. 
But at that day it was a " dark and bloody ground 
a frontier station in the forests, which were filled 
with rival savages attached to France or England. 

One day, in mid- winter, eight rangers, with a ser- 
geant, were ordered out on some service, the doctor 



THE ranger's adventure. 



33 



did not know what, but probably to seize some strag- 
gling Frenchman about Ticonderoga or Crown Point, 
and bring him to the fort, for the sake of obtaining 
intelligence. He was himself of the party. A narrow 
road, or rather path, led northward toward Canada, 
and they followed it for several hours. There had 
just been a heavy fall of snow; all the pines and 
hemlocks in the forest were loaded thick with it; and 
as the afternoon was still and clear, only occasional 
flakes or light masses dropped from the burdened 
boughs like feathers. These circumstances were 
stamped on the old man's mind, seeming like a con- 
stantly recurring dream. The rangers waded in 
Indian file through the snow, and as danger was ap- 
prehended, a man was placed some rods in advance, 
one on each flank, and another behind. This last, 
was the doctor himself, " and this was the gun I car- 
ried," said he, taking a short heavy piece from a 
corner. They saw no signs of the enemy : there was 
no sound but the note of the little " Chick-a-dee-dee," 
familiar to the pine woods in winter. 




D 




84 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



At length, they descended into a hollow : the frozen 
sheet of Lake George lay not far on to the left, and 
a steep hill on the right. The ground, a short distance 
before them, was low and swampy, and a little brook 
had spread itself out on the path, making a frozen 
space, free from trees, across which their advanced 
man was now slowly trampling, crushing his boots 
into the ice and water at every step. He paused sud- 
denly, turned sharply round, and gave the low whistle 
appointed as the signal of alarm. He had seen the 
tracks of many moccasined feet in the fresh snow be- 
yond. There was not time to think ; the loud report 
of a gun broke the stillness. The ranger gave a 
shrill scream, leaped four feet into the air and fell 
flat. Instantly the Indian yell burst from the woods 
on our right and left, followed by the stunning rattle 
of more than fifty guns, and not a man of the rangers 
but one ever moved alive from the spot where he stood 
transfixed with surprise at the sudden death of his 
comrade. 

That man was our hero, whose position, far behind 
the rest, saved him. He remembered the panic felt 
at the fierce burst of yells and musketry, and the sud- 
den rush of the savage swarm from their ambush, 
upon his fallen comrades ; and, in the next instant, 
that his memory could recall, he was flying back to- 
ward the fort. He heard sharp, sudden yelps behind 
him, and glancing back, saw two Indians bounding 
on his track. He ran a mile, he should think, with- 
out turning or hearing a single sound ; then turning 
his head, saw an Indian leaping silent as a spectre. 




The Hanger's Pursuer Impaled. 



THE ranger's adventure. 



35 



within a few rods of him. With admirable coolness, 
he turned quickly round, and raising his gun with a 
steady hand, fired with such good effect that the Abe- 
naki pitched forward to the ground, and his shaven 
head ploughed up the snow, for yards, by the impulse 
of his headlong pursuit. The young soldier turned 
and fled again, and as he did so he heard the report 
of the other Indian s gun, followed by the loud hum- 
ming of the ball. So alert and attentive were his 
faculties, that he observed where the bullet struck 
upon a loaded bough in front of him ; scattering the 
glittering particles of snow. 

The path now led downward with a steep descent ; 
at the bottom an ancient pine tree had fallen across 
it, whose sharp broken branches rose up perpendicu- 
larly from the prostrate trunk four or five feet from 
the ground, blocking up the way, like a bristling 
chevaux-de-frise. The rangers had previously turned 
aside to avoid it. There was no time to do so now. 
The doctor's limbs were small and light, but as active 
as a deer's, and the Indian's tomahawk was close be- 
hind. Without hesitating, he ran down and sprang 
into the air. His foot caught, so that he fell on the 
other side ; but he snatched up his gun and ran again. 
In a moment he heard a wild and horrid cry, and 
turning as he ran up the opposite hill, he saw a sight 
that has murdered his sleep for many a night. The 
daring savage had leaped like him, but not so well ; 
he had tripped, and one of the broken branches had 
caught and impaled him on its upright point, passing 
upward into the cavity of his chest ! He saw the 



38 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



starting eje-balls, and the painted features hideously 
distorted, and paused to see no more. 
. About sunset the sentinels of Fort Ann saw him 
emerging from the woods, running as if the Indians 
were still behind him. A strong party sent out next 
morning found the bodies of the rangers stripped, and 
frozen in the various positions in which they died, so 
that they appeared like marble statues. On a tree 
close by, the French officer who commanded the 
Abenakis had fastened a piece of birch bark, inscribed 
with an insolent and triumphant message to the 
English. The bodies of the two Indians had been 
removed, although the white snow around the old 
pine tree retained ineffaceable marks of the tragedy 
that had been enacted there, and was beaten hard 
by the moccasins of a crowd of savages who had ga- 
thered about that place. 

The taste of war was enough for the doctor's mar- 
tial zeal. He did not take the field again till twenty 
years afterward, when he came to Washington's camp 
at Cambridge, armed with probe and balsam, instead 
of a musket and powder. 



The early history of Kentucky is one continued 
series of daring and romantic adventures. Had the 
founder of that State lived in the days of chivalric 
yore, his exploits would have been sung in connection 




Butler's Mazeppa Adventure. 



THE AMERICAN MAZEPPA. 



41 



with those of Arthur and Orlando ; and his followers, 
in the same region, would certainly have been knights 
of the Round Table. The hero of our story was one 
of these. Those who desire to inspect his adventure, 
by the light of romance, will not be displeased at 
learning that his choice of a hunter's life was deter- 
mined by a disappointment in the object of his early 
love. He was then only nineteen, yet he fearlessly 
left his native state, and sought, amid the unculti- 
vated wilds of Kentucky, the stirring enjoyment of 
a western hunter. After rendering valuable service 
to the Virginia colony, as a spy and pioneer, he under- 
took a voyage of discovery to the country north of 
the Ohio. It was while thus engaged that he was 
taken prisoner by the Indians. 

He was, no doubt, known to the Indians as an active 
and dangerous enemy; and they now prepared to 
avenge themselves upon him. They condemned him 
to the fiery torture, painted his body black, and 
marched him toward Chilicothe. By way of amuse- 
ment on the road, he was manacled hand and foot, 
tied on an unbridled and unbroken -horse, and driven 
off amid the shouts and whoops of the savages ; poor 
Butler thus playing the part of an American Mazeppa. 
The horse, unable to shake him off, galloped with 
terrific speed toward the wood, jarring and bruising 
the rider at every step ; but at length, exhausted and 
subdued, it returned to camp with its burden, amid 
the exulting shouts of the savages. When within 
a mile of Chilicothe, they took Butler from the horse, 
and tied him to a stake where, for twenty-four hours, 

6 D 2 



42 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



he remained in one position. He was then untied, to 
run the gauntlet. Six hundred Indians, men, women, 
and children, armed with clubs and switches, arranged 
themselves in two parallel lines, to strike him as he 
passed. It was a mile to the council house, which, 
if he reached, he was to be spared. A blow started 
him on this encouraging race; but he soon broke 
through the files, and had almost reached the council 
house, when he was brought to the ground by a club. 
In this position he was severely beaten, and again 
taken into custody. 

These terrible sufferings, instead of satisfying the 
Indians, only stimulated them to invent more ingeni- 
ous tortures. Their cruelty was not more astonish- 
ing than the fortitude of the victim. He ran the 
gauntlet thirteen times; he was exposed to insult, 
privation, and injury of every kind : sometimes he 
was tied, sometimes beaten. At others, he was pinched, 
dragged on the ground, or deprived for long periods 
of sleep. Then, amid jeers and yells, he was marched 
from village to village, so that all might be entertained 
with his sufferings. Yet, amid such torture, he never 
failed to improve an opportunity favourable for escap- 
ing, and in one instance would have effected it, but 
for some Indians whom he accidentally met returning 
to the village. Finally it was resolved to burn him 
at the Lower Sandusky. 

The procession, bearing the victim to the stake, 
passed by the cabin of Simon Girty, whose name is a 
counterpart to that of Brandt, in the annals of Penn- 
sylvania. This man had just returned from an un- 



HEROISM OF A WOMAN. 



43 



successful expedition to the frontier of that State, 
burning, of course, with disappointment, and a thirst 
for revenge. Hearing that a white prisoner was being 
carried to the torture, he rushed out, threw Butler 
down and began to beat him. The reader will not be 
apt to imagine that this was in any way favourable 
to Butler's escape ; yet it was so. He instantly re- 
cognised in the fierce assailant a companion of early 
days, and as such made himself known. The heart 
of the savage relented. He raised up his old* friend, 
promised to use his influence for him, summoned a 
council, and persuaded the Indians to resign Butler to 
him. Taking the unfortunate man home, he fed and 
nursed him until he began to recover. But five days 
had scarcely expired, when the Indians, relented, 
seized their victim, and marched him to be burned at 
Lower Sandusky. By a surprising coincidence, he 
here met the Indian agent from Detroit, who inter- 
ceded and saved him. He was taken to that town, 
paroled by the governor, and subsequently escaped 
through the woods to Kentucky. 



The following anecdote has in it little pleasing or 
amiable. Woman, as an Amazon, does not appear to 
advantage. Something seems to be wanting in such 
a character; or, perhaps, it has something too much. 
Yet, occasionally, circumstances render it necessary 



44 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



for the gentler sex to fight or die; and then, though 
the record may be bloody and revolting, we experience 
a kind of j)leasure at the heroine's triumph. 

The circumstance we refer to occurred in 1791, at 
the house of Mr. Merill, in Nelson county, Virginia. 
At that time the Indians were committing devasta- 
tions, which kept the western settlements of Penn- 
sylvania and Virginia in a state of constant alarm. 
In 1784, they had attacked the villages on Clinch 
river; and, after killing many of the settlers, and lay- 
ing waste a large tract of country, they retired with 
a number of prisoners to Ohio. There they burned 
to death a Mrs. Moore and her daughter Jane, with 
all the aggravated circumstances of Indian torture. 

On the occasion referred to above, a large party as- 
saulted the house of Mr. Merill. Mr. Merill opened 
the door to ascertain the cause of the barking of the 
dogs. He was fired at, and fell wounded into the 
room. The savages attempted to rush in after him, 
but Mrs. Merill and her daughter effectually closed 
the door. The assailants began to hew a passage 
through it with their tomahawks ; and having made 
a breach, attempted to squeeze through into the room. 
Undismayed by the cries and groans within, and the 
exulting yells without, the courageous wife seized an 
axe, gave the entering ruffian a fatal blow, and drag- 
ged him through the opening in the door. Another 
and another pressed in, supposing their precursors 
were safely engaged in the work of death within, until 
four were slain. The silence within induced one of 
those without to explore the interior, through the 



ESCAPE OF MRS. DAVIS. ^5 

crevice of the door. Discovering the fate of his com- 
panions within, after some counsel with those without, 
two mounted the house, and began to descend the 
broad wooden chimney. Aware, from the noise of the 
chmbers, what was in agitation, Mrs. Merill promptly 
met that danger. Her little son was ordered to cut 
open a feather bed, and throw the contents in the fire. 
The two lodgers in the funnel, scorched and suffocated 
by the burning feathers, tumbled down in a half-in- 
sensible state, far from enviable. Mr. Merill so far 
recovered from his wound as to aid his heroic wife, 
helped to despatch them, while she continued to guard 
the door with her uplifted axe. Another savage at- 
tempted to enter, but was saluted with such a blow 
as drove him howling away. Thus, through the 
courage of one woman, the whole party were either 
killed or wounded. A prisoner heard this incident 
related by the survivor in his own town. Being asked 
as usual, "What news?" he answered, "Bad news! 
The squaws fight worse than the Long knives." 



ii^cajpe cf iUx^* WrU^ from t^e Wta^* 

The following anecdote proves that the Indians 
sometimes make a distinction in favour of the sex 
of those they take in battle. In 1761, Mr. Davis and 
his wife, of the James River settlement, were taken 
prisoners by a party of Indians. The former was put 
to death. Mrs. Davis was carried through the forests 



46 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



to the Chilicothe towns, north of the Ohio, where she 
was compelled to live with the squaws, painted and 
dressed as one of their number. Instead of abandon- 
ing herself to useless grief, she became a nurse and 
physician to the tribe, performing such celebrated 
cures as to obtain the reputation of a necromancer. 
Her person was regarded as sacred, and received from 
the Indians all the honour due to an agent of the Great 
Spuit. 

Meanwhile she had been meditating escape ; and 
having effectually lulled the former anxiety of the 
tribe, she resolved upon attempting it. She was ac- 
customed to wander into the woods to gather herbs 
and roots. In 1763, she set out ostensibly for the 
same purpose ; but not returning at night, she was 
suspected and pursued. To avoid leaving traces of 
her path, she crossed the Sciota three times, but when 
again attempting it, was discovered and fired at. The 
shot failed ; but in the hurry of flight, she wounded 
her foot with a sharp stone, and was obliged to creep 
into a hollow sycamore log. Here she was obHged to 
remain in agonizing suspense, while her enraged pur- 
suers were searching in every direction, and frequently 
stepping on or over the log. Their camp was pitched 
near it for the night, and she could hear them build- 
ing a fire and cooking their supper. Next morning 
they again started in pursuit. She crept from her hid- 
ing-place and proceeded in another direction as fast as 
her lameness permitted. After remaining in the 
neighbourhood three days, she again set forward, 
reached the Ohio, crossed it on a drift log, and entered 



SINGULAR EXECUTION. 



49 



the forests leading to Virginia. She was obliged to 
travel at night, and to subsist on roots, wild fruit and 
river shell-fish. After travelling three hundred miles, 
through forests and rivers, and over mountains, she 
became entirely exhausted, and lay down to die. This 
was near the Green Brier settlement. She was dis- 
covered by some of the inhabitants, brought into the 
village, and soon restored to health. 



The courage necessary to enable man to meet his 
fellow-man in the struggle of the battle-field, is pos- 
sessed by the white man in common with the Indian. 
But, in many instances, there is a feeling of stoical 
indifference to death, the result of steady uninter- 
rupted habit, which, while found in the Red man, is 
almost wholly unknown to his more tenderly edu- 
cated neighbour. It might seem strange to affirm, 
that the fear of death, so innate and universal, could 
ever be subdued by education; that man, under the 
dominion of artifical strictures, could be made to look 
calmly upon his dissolution, so as even to neglect the 
improvement of opportunities favourable to averting 
it. Yet such is the case, and that not merely in one 
or two instances, but, as a general rule, among many 
populous tribes. The following anecdote is an ex- 
ample of this sort. While admiring the fearlessness 
of this untutored Indian, we cannot but lament, that 

7 E 



50 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



it had not been employed in a nobler cause. Such a 
character, enlisted among the friends of humanity, of 
science or of religion, would have gained for itself a 
reputation like that of Howard, Herschell, or Robinson. 

In March, 1823, a Choctaw, named Sibley, stabbed 
another Indian in a drunken fit. A brother of the 
murdered man called upon Sibley, to inform him that 
he had come to take his life, in atonement for that 
of his relative. Such a mission would have occa- 
sioned strange tumults in a white man's house. Sibley, 
on the contrary, readily assented to the just decision, 
merely requesting that the execution might be post- 
poned until the following morning. The reasonable 
request was immediately complied with; and the 
executioner retired, leaving Sibley entirely free from 
restraint. 

Under this reprieve, the first impulse of a white 
man would have been to run for the woods. Such 
was not the Indian's course. He slept that night as 
usual 5 and, on the following morning, went out with 
a party, of which one was his victim's brother, to dig 
a grave. In this work he assisted with perfect apathy ; 
and when it was finished, he observed to the bystand- 
ers, that he thought it large enough to contain two 
bodies. His wish to be buried there was agreed to. 
Sibley now placed himself over the grave, stretched 
out his arms, and gave the signal to fire. He received 
a rifle ball through his heart, and fell upon the body 
of his victim. 

The following is an example in all respects similar. 

In the autumn of 1830, the town of Alexandria, 



EXTRAORDINARY DUEL. 



61 



in Louisiana, was visited by various tribes of savages. 
In a drunken frolic one of them was killed. The per- 
son who committed the act surrendered himself to the 
relations of the deceased. After this, he walked 
^through the streets, talking composedly of his antici- 
pated execution. A number of the citizens joined, 
and raised a considerable sum of money to buy his 
pardon : but it was rejected — the surviving brother 
declaring, that no money could purchase his redemp- 
tion. The criminal expressed no anxiety to escape. 
No gun could be procured ; when — stating his objec- 
tion to the delay, and threatening to leave the ground, 
if he was not immediately punished — the brother 
advanced, and, with a spade, knocked him down, and 
split open his skull — exhibiting demoniacal expres- 
sions of joy at the accomplishment of the act. 



In the summer of 1806, the following extraordi- 
nary circumstance occurred in the neighbourhood of 
Natchez. 

About two o'clock, P. M., an Indian was discovered 
by the family, entering the south end of Colonel Gi- 
rault's lane. He drew their attention, being painted 
in an uncommon manner : his whole body appeared 
red. He held in his right hand a gun, which he brand- 
ished with many gesticulations; in his left, a bottle. 
He was attended by two other Indians, in rather a 



52 



THRILLING ADVENTURES 



sober pace. At the opposite end of the lane some 
more Indians were discovered, among whom was a 
man painted in like manner, but unarmed. He was 
held and detained by a woman : but when the one 
brandishing his gun came within about twenty steps 
of him, he burst from the embrace of his wife, and 
pushed towards his antagonist. About four yards 
distance they both halted, when the unarmed one 
presented his naked breast to the other, who took de- 
liberate aim ; but, appearing to recollect himself, he 
dropped his gun and took a drink from the bottle which 
was tied to his wrist — the other patiently waiting, 
and holding his breast open and presented all this 
time. Having finished his draught, and given a 
whoop, he took fresh aim, and in an instant the other 
dropped almost at his feet. This done, he loaded his 
gun with all possible speed, gave it to a bystander, 
(son of the deceased,) and then, in turn, bared and 
presented his breast, and was instantaneously sent into 
eternity. 

The dead bodies were carried each the way they 
had come, and by their respective friends interred, 
one at each end of the lane. The wife and relatives 
of the unarmed one — who was first killed — howled 
over his remains three days and nights. They then 
disappeared. On Friday last (says the account) they 
returned again, fired several guns on approaching the 
grave, gave a general howl, about a quarter of an 
hour, and retired. 

We learn (says the same account) from one among 
them, who speaks broken English, that they had 




Extraordinary Duel 



I 



THE maiden's rock. 



55 



quarrelled over a bottle some considerable time ago, 
when the Indian, who was first killed, had his finger 
bitten by the other, in such a manner that his arm 
became inflamed. He declared he was " spoiled," and 
they must both die. They agreed, and formed the 
arrangement as here related. 



Just below the Falls of St. Anthony, (which you 
will find in about 44° North latitude and 95° West 
longitude) the channel of the Mississippi, by becoming 
deeper and wider than ordinary, assumes the appear- 
ance and character of a lake, to which the French 
have given the name of Lake Pepin. This lake is 
twenty-one miles long, and about two and a half 
broad, and in most places nearly fills the valley be- 
tween the majestic heights which extend along the 
shores, in a more regular manner than the hills which 
are found on the banks of the river. Here, too, in- 
stead of the rapid current of the Mississippi, wind- 
ing around numerous islands, with surfaces sometimes 
covered with wood, and sometimes mere barren tracts 
of sand, the lake presents an unbroken expanse of 
water, which the traveller will often find still and 
smooth as a mirror. The Indians will not cross the 
lake when the wind is strong, for, though small, it is 
deep, and easily agitated so much as to make it dan- 
gerous for a man to expose himself to its waves in a 
frail canoe. * 



5() THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

About halfway up the lake its eastern bank rises 
to the height of five hundred feet. The lower three 
hundred feet consist of a very abrupt and precipitous 
slope, extending from the water's edge to the base of 
a naked rock, which rises perpendicularly two hun- 
dred feet higher. 

The wildness of the scenery is such that the travel- 
ler, who has already gazed with dehght on the high 
bluffs on either side of the Mississippi, is struck with 
admiration on beholding this beautiful spot. Here he 
will see the steep craggy rock, whose base is washed 
by a wide expanse of water, generally with a calm 
unruffled surface, contrasting strongly with the savage 
features of the surrounding landscape. Cold must the 
heart of that man be, who can contemplate unmoved 
and uninterested the stupendous cliffs that enclose 
this lake ! 

Eather Hennepin, the first white man who ever 
saw it, calls it the Lake of Tears, because his party 
having been taken prisoners by the Indians, a consul- 
tation respecting their fate was held at the base of 
these precipices, when it was resolved that he and his 
companions should be put to death the following day ; 
from which fate they were, however, delivered. The 
deeds of cruelty, of danger, and of daring, which 
have here been perpetrated, will never be unfolded ; 
but there is a tale, told indeed by a savage, yet of so 
much interest that many a heart has been made sad 
by its recital. We cannot recommend it as an ex- 
ample, but it shows, notwithstanding the apathy and 
indifference to fate which is usually imputed to the 



THE ''maiden's rock. 



57 



Red men of America, that they do possess the feel- 
ings of our common nature. 

Twenty years ago there was in the nation of the 
Dacotas an aged and celebrated chief, whose name 
was Wapasha. It was in the time of his father, who 
was also a chief, that one of the most melancholy 
transactions that ever occurred among the Indians, 
took place at the spot we have described above. 

- There was at that time in the village of Keoxa, in 
the tribe of Wapasha, a young woman, whose name 
was Winona, which signifies, the first-born. She was 
dear to her parents and a favourite with the whole 
tribe. She had promised to spend her life with a 
young hunter of the same nation, who was strongly 
attached to her. He applied to her parents for leave 
to marry her, but was greatly surprised when they 
refused him, and told him that their daughter was 
already promised to a warrior of distinction. The 
latter had acquired a name by the services he had 
rendered to his village when it was attacked by the 
Chippewas, and, encouraged by Winona's parents and 
brothers, he urged his claim with great assiduity, but 
she still refused him, and persisted in her preference 
for the hunter. 

To the recommendation of her friends in favour of 
the warrior, she replied, that she had chosen a hunter 
who would spend his life with her, but if she accepted 
the warrior, he would be constantly absent from her 
on some exploit, exposing himself to danger and his 
family to hardship. Winona's expostulations were of 
no avail with her parents, and after they had suc- 

8 



58 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ceeded in driving away lier lover, they used harsh 
means to induce her to marry the man they had 
chosen. Till now "Winona had always been the de- 
light of her parents, and had been more indulged 
than is usual with women among the Indians. 

About this time a party was formed in the village 
to go to Lake Pepin, to procure a supply of the blue 
clay which is found upon its shores, and which is used 
by the Indians for the purpose of painting. The pa- 
rents and brothers of Winona were of the party, and 
she also was with them. On the day of their visit to 
the lake, her brothers made presents to the warrior, 
and encouraged by this he again addressed her, and 
was again rejected. Her father, who was not accus- 
tomed to be contradicted, became more and more 
angry, and declared that the marriage should take 
place that very day. 

" You leave me no hope," said Winona ; " I told 
you I did not love him, and I would not live with 
him. I wished to remain unmarried since you have 
driven the hunter away from me, but you would not 
permit it. Is this the love you have for me ! Yes, 
you have driven him that loves me away from our 
village, and now he wanders alone in the forest ; he 
has no one to build his lodge, no one to spread his 
blanket, and wait on him when he returns home, 
weary and hungry from the chase. But even this is 
not enough ; you would have me rejoice when he is 
far away, and unite myself with another." Casting a 
melancholy look on her father and mother, as she 



THE maiden's rock. 



61 



finished these words, she slowly withdrew herself from 
the assembly. 

Preparations for the marriage feast were still going 
on, when Winona silently wound her way up to the 
top of the cliff; and having gained the summit of the 
rock, from the very verge of the precipice she called 
out to her friends below. A light breeze bore her 
voice along the surface of the water, and her parents 
heard her last words : Farewell ! you were cruel to 
me and my lover ; you dared to threaten me, but you 
did not know me. Look now whether you can force 
me to marry one whom I do not love." 

Her distracted brothers ran towards the top of the 
cliff in order to prevent her design; while many 
hastened to the foot of the rock in hopes of receiving 
her in their arms. Her aged parents, with tears in 
their eyes, endeavoured by signs to make her aban- 
don her purpose. But all was in vain ; as the sound 
of her last words floated towards them on the calm 
lake, they saw her dash herself from the summit of 
the rock ! . . . . "Whenever one of the Dacota In- 
dians passes by the place in his light canoe, he raises 
his eye for a moment to gaze on the giddy height, still 
called The Maiden's Kock; and the recollection of 
Winona's dreadful fate makes his heart sorrowful ; 
but he hopes she is gone to the Great Master of Life, 
and that a better portion is now appointed for her 
where no sorrows will ever come to trouble her. 

Such is the story as it was related by Wazecota, an 
aged Indian chief, who, being very young at the time, 
saw what he related. While telling the story, the 

F 



62 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



stifihess of age forsook his limbs^ and the momentary 
restoration of his youth manifested the deep impres- 
sion made upon his mind. 

Winona was an uncivilized Indian ; she had never 
been taught the word of the Master of Life, "thou 
shalt not kill" — she had never heard that "the patient 
in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." 

But let those who can read the word of God re- 
member, that they who attempt to escape the evils of 
this life by self-destruction, are far worse than the 
rudest savages of the wilderness. 




SHENANDOAH. 



63 




That part of the country round the thriving town 
of Utica, in the State of New York, and through 
which a railroad now runs, was formerly called Whites- 
borough, and there is now a small town joining Utica 
so called. The first settler in that part of the coun- 
try was a Mr. White, after whom the place was 
named. At the time we speak of, there were nume- 
rous Indians living in the neighbourhood ; with them 
he had several interviews, and mutual promises of 
friendship were exchanged. He also smoked the pipe 
of peace with them, to confirm the contract more 
solemnly. 

Still the Indians were suspicious. " The white 
men," said they, " are deceitful, and we must have 
some proof of his sincerity." 

Accordingly, one evening, during Mr. White's ab- 



64 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



sence from home, three Indians went to his house. 
At first, Mrs. White and her children were much 
alarmed, but on perceiving one of the Indians to be 
Shen-an-do-ah, whom they knew to be a mild, humane 
man, their fear was in some degree quieted. On enter- 
ing the house, they addressed Mrs. White, saying, 
"We are come to ask you for your little daughter 
J ane, that we may take her home with us to-night." 

Such a request might well startle the good woman ; 
she knew not what answer to give. To refuse might, 
she feared, excite their anger ; to grant their request 
might hazard the liberty or even the life of her child. 

Luckily at this moment, while the Indians were 
waiting for a rej^ly, Mr. White, the father of the 
child, came in. The request was repeated to him, 
and he had sufficient presence of mind to grant it, in- 
stantly and cheerfully. 

The mother was overwhelmed with surprise, and 
felt all the horror that can be conceived ; but she was 
silent, for she knew it would be vain to resist. The 
little girl was fetched, and delivered to the Indians, 
who lived about ten or twelve miles off. 

Shen-an-do-ah took the child by the hand, and led 
her away through the woods, having first said to her 
father, "To-morrow, when the sun is high in the 
heavens, we will bring her back." 

Mrs. White had often heard that the Indians were 
treacherous, and she well knew they were cruel ; she 
therefore looked upon her little daughter as lost, and 
considered that she was given as a kind of sacrifice 
to save the family. 



SHENANDOAH. 



65 



Mr. White endeavoured to comfort her, for he felt 
assured that his child would be brought safely back 
the following morning. To the poor mother the night 
was long and sleepless ; her anxiety became greater 
as the promised time approached. Already she im- 
agined that the Indians would keep their word, and 
indeed bring back the child, but she fully believed 
that they would not bring her back alive. She 
watched the sun with a beating heart, and just when 
it seemed at the highest point of the heavens, she 
cried out to her husband, " There they are !" 

Shen-an-do-ah and his companions were faithful to 
their promise ; they now came back with the little 
Jane, who, smiling with delight, was decked out in 
all the finery that an Indian wigwam could furnish — 
necklaces of shells, dyed feathers, and moccasins 
beautifully worked with porcupine quills. She was 
delighted with her visit and with her presents. 

The effect of Mr. White's confidence was just what 
might be expected. From this time the Indians were 
his friends. Had he acted with timidity, and refused 
to let his child visit them, they would have had no 
confidence in him. 

Shen-an-do-ah was an Oneida chief of some cele- 
brity, having fought on the side of the Americans in 
the Eevolutionary war. He lived to be a hundred 
years old ; and though in his youth he was very wild, 
and addicted to drunkenness, yet by the force of his 
own good sense, and the benevolent exhortations of a 
Christian missionary, he lived a reformed man for 

9 f2 



66 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



more tlian sixty years.* He was intrepid in war, but 
mild and friendly in the time of peace. His vigilance 
once preserved the infant settlements of the German 
flats (on the Mohawk) from being cruelly massacred 
by a tribe of hostile Indians , his influence brought 
his own tribe to assist the Americans, and his many 
friendly actions in their behalf gained for him, among 
the Indian tribes, the appellation of the " White man's 
friend." 

To one who went to see him a short time before his 
death, he thus expressed himself: "I am an aged 
hemlock — the winds of a hundred winters have 
whistled through my branches — I am dead at the top. 
The generation to which I belong have passed away 
and left me. "Why / still live, the Great Spirit alone 
knows ! But I pray to him that I may have patience 
to wait for my appointed time to die." 



Not long after Connecticut began to be settled by 
the English, a stranger Indian came one day to a 
tavern in one of its towns in the dusk of the even- 
ing, and requested the hostess to supply him with 

* In 1775 Shen-an-do-ali was present at a treaty made in Albany. 
At nigbt lie was excessively drunk, and in the morning found him- 
self in the street, stripped of all his ornaments, and every article 
of clothing. His pride revolted at his self-degradation and he re- 
solved never more to deliver himself over to the power of " strong 
water." 



INDIAN GRATITUDE. 



67 



something to eat and drink, at the same time he 
honestly told her that he could not pay her for either, 
as he had had no success in hunting for several days ; 
but that he would return payment as soon as he 
should meet with better fortune. 

The hostess, who was a very ill-tempered woman, 
not only flatly refused to relieve him, but added abuse 
to her unkindness, calling him a lazy, drunken fellow, 
and told him that she did not work so hard herself, 
to throw away her earnings upon such vagabonds 
as he was. 

There was a man sitting in the same room of the 
tavern, who, on hearing the conversation, looked up, 
and observed the Indian's countenance, which plainly 
showed that he was suffering severely from want and 
fatigue, and being of a humane disposition, he told 
the woman to give the poor wanderer some supper, 
and he would pay for it. 

She did so : and when the Indian had finished his 
meal, he turned towards his benefactor, thanked him, 
and told him that he should not forget his kindness. 
"As for the woman," he added, "all I can give her 
is a story — if she likes to hear it." The woman, 
being now in a rather better temper, and having some 
curiosity to hear what he had to tell, readily con- 
sented, and the Indian addressed her as follows : — 

"I suppose you read the Bible?" The woman as- 
sented. "Well," continued the Indian, "the Bible 
say, God made the world, and then he took him, and 
looked on him, and say, ' It's all very good.' Then 
he made light, and took him, and looked on him, and 



68 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



say, ^It's all very good.' Then he made dry land, 
and water, and sun, and moon, and grass, and trees, 
and took him, and say, ' It's all very good.' Then he 
made beasts, and birds, and fishes, and took him, and 
looked on him, and say, ^It's all very good.' Then 
he made man, and took him, and looked on him, and 
say, 'It's all very good.' And last of all he made 
womariy and took him, and looked on him, and he no 
dare say one such word!' The Indian, having told his 
story, departed. 

Some years after, the man who had befriended the 
Indian had occasion to go some distance into the 
wilderness between Litchfield and Albany, which is 
now a populous city, but then contained only a few 
houses. Here he was taken prisoner by an Indian 
scout, and carried off into Canada. When he arrived 
at the principal settlement of their tribe, which 
was on the banks of the great river St. Lawrence, 
some of the Indians proposed that he should be put 
to death, in revenge for the wrongs that they had 
suffered from the white men ; and this probably would 
have been his fate, had not an old Indian woman, or 
squaw, as they are called, demanded that he should 
be given up to her, that she might adopt him in place 
of her son, whom she had lately lost in war. He was 
accordingly given to her, and, as it is customary under 
such circumstances, was thenceforth treated in the 
same manner as her own son. 

In the following summer, as he was one day at 
work in the forest by himself, felling trees, an Indian, 
who was unknown to him, came up and asked him 




Indian Gratitude. 



INDIA"^ GRATITUDE. 



71 



to meet him the following day at a certain spot which 
he described. The white man agreed to do so, but 
not without some apprehension that mischief was 
intended. During the night these fears increased to 
so great a degree, as effectually to prevent his keep- 
ing his appointment. 

However, a few days after, the same Indian, find- 
ing him again at work, gravely reproved him for not 
keeping his promise. The man made the best ex- 
cuses he could, but the Indian was not satisfied until 
he had again promised to meet him the next morning 
at the place already agreed on. 

Accordingly, when he arrived at the spot, he found 
the Indian already there, provided with two muskets 
and powder, and two knapsacks. The Indian ordered 
him to take one of each, and to follow him. The di- 
rection of their march was southward. The man 
followed without the least knowledge of what he was 
to do, or whither he was going, but he concluded that 
if the Indian intended to do him harm, he would have 
despatched him at the first meeting, and certainly 
would not have provided him with a musket and 
powder for defence. His fears, therefore, gradually 
subsided, although the Indian maintained an obstinate 
silence when he questioned him concerning the object 
of their expedition. 

In the day time they shot and cooked as much 
game as they required, and at night they kindled a 
fire by which they slept. After a fatiguing journey 
through the forest for many days, they came one 
morning to the top of a hill from which there was the 



72 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



prospect of a cultivated country, interspersed with 
several snug farm-houses. 

"Now/' said the Indian to his joyful companion, 
"do you know where you are?" "Yes," replied he, 
"we are not ten miles from my own village.'' "And 
do you not recollect a poor Indian at the tavern ? — 
you feed him — ^you speak kind to him — I am that 
poor Indian ; — now go home." Having said this, he 
bade him farewell, and the man joyfully returned to 
his own home. 



The town of Wheeling, like many of our early 
Pennsylvanian settlements, has suffered several at- 
tacks from the Indians. On one of these occasions, 
the house of Colonel Zane, outside the principal fort, 
contained a supply of ammunition, and was garrisoned 
by seven or eight persons, male and female, besides 
the colonel's family. Before firing, the Indians de- 
manded a surrender of the house. They were answered 
by a volley of musketry. The attack and defence 
were maintained till night, when the assailants at- 
tempted to fire the house. One of them, crawling 
with a brand toward the kitchen, was driven away 
by a shot from a black man. At this moment a small 
boat, loaded with cannon-balls, and steered by one 
man, approached the fort. The savages poured forth 
a volley of balls against him, and rushed to seize the 
boat. He gained the fort with a wound, leaving the 



DARING FEAT OF A GIRL. 



75 



whole cargo in possession of the Indians. With a 
cannon they could now have battered house and fort 
to pieces ; and aware of this, they procured a hollow 
log, twisted chains around it, and rammed in a heavy 
charge. This ingenious piece of ordnance blew into 
a thousand pieces with the first discharge, killing 
several, wounding more, and throwing the survivors 
into a state of mingled terror and astonishment. 

In a little time they renewed the assault on the 
house, but were driven back. But the ammunition 
of the garrison was fast failing, and it was proposed 
that some one should sally to the fort for a supply. 
Among the volunteers to this bold attempt, was a 
young sister of Colonel Zane, who had recently re- 
turned from a boarding-school in Philadelphia. When 
reminded that a man would have an advantage over 
her in strength and swiftness, she answered, that the 
loss of a woman would be less felt. Arranging her 
dress for the purpose, she bounded towards the fort. 
Awed by the singular apparition, the Indians re- 
strained their fire, and uttered a cry of admiration. 
She safely reached the fort, and the commandant. 
Colonel Silas Zane, a relative of the other colonel, 
filled a table cloth with powder, bound it round her 
waist, and sent her back. By this time the Indians 
had obtained an inkling into the fair one's mission, 
and poured after her a volley of balls. She passed 
untouched through all, and entered the house with her 
load. Soon after the Indians abandoned the siege, 
and retired down the river. 



76 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



The battle of Monmouth (in New Jersey) was 
fought on the 28th June, 1778. The Americans 
were commanded by General Washington, and the 
English by Sir Henry Clinton. The day was in- 
tensely hot. A woman, named Molly Pritchard, the 
wife of a soldier in the American army, who was em- 
ployed in loading and firing a cannon, occupied her- 
self in carrying water from a spring to the battery 
where her husband was stationed. He was shot dead, 
and she saw him fall. An officer on the spot imme- 
diately ordered another man to the gun. But Molly 
Pritchard stepped up, offered her services, and to the 
astonishment of the soldiers, took her husband's place. 
She fought so manfully ^ that half pay was granted to 
her for life by Congress. She wore a soldier's epau- 
lette, and was known by the name of '^Captain Molly" 
ever after. 

A few years after Boston and its neighbourhood 
were settled by the English, a party of Narragansett 
Indians who were out hunting, stopped at the house 
of Mr. Minot, in Dorchester, and rudely demanded 
food. On being refused, they went away with evident 
marks of displeasure, and Oquamehud, their chief, 
threatened to be revenged. For this purpose, he left 
in the bushes, near the house, an Indian named Osa- 
mee, who had long been known in the neighbourhood 
for his uncommon ferocity. 

The next morning Mr. and Mrs. Minot went to 




The faithful Nnrse. 



THE FAITHFUL NURSE. 



79 



Boston, a distance of only three miles : the Indian 
saw them from his hiding-place, and prepared himself 
for an assault on the house, which he supposed waj 
left without any defence. However, although Mr 
Minot had no apprehension of an attack of this kind, 
he had taken the precaution to give strict charge tc 
the maid-servant to confine herself with his two little 
children to the house, and to open the door to no per- 
son until his return. 

The girl was trusty and watchful, and she soon 
espied the Indian drawing cautiously towards the 
house. After looking about, apparently to make sure 
that there was nobody near, he rushed furiously 
against the door, but it was so securely bolted that it 
withstood his force, and he next attempted to get in 
through the window. The young woman had hidden 
her master's children under two brass kettles, charg- 
ing them not to stir, nor make the least noise ; she 
then loaded a musket belonging to the house, and 
bravely stood upon her defence. 

The Indian, probably guessing her design, fired at 
her, but he missed his mark. The girl then fired, 
and the bullet entered his shoulder. Still he per- 
sisted in his attempt, and had succeeded in getting 
half through the window, when, with great presence 
of mind, she seized a pan full of red-hot cinders from 
the stove, and threw them in his face. They lodged 
in his blanket, and the pain they created was too 
much even for Osamee. He fled, and his dead body 
was found next day in a wood on the borders of the 
town. 



I 



80 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

The circumstances being made known to the go- 
vernment of Massachusetts Bay, this courageous 
young woman was, by their order, presented with a 
silver bracelet, on which her name was engraved, 
with this motto, ^^She slew the Narrhagansett 
hunter." 

We do not see much to admire in the unfeminine 
conduct of Captain Molly," and have related the 
story, merely that the readers of these tales may com- 
pare her with the trustworthy servant girl, who saved 
the lives of two children as well as her own, by her 
presence of mind and courage. Assuredly the silver 
bracelet was better deserved than the epaulette of 
Molly Pritchard. Such instances of cool courage are 
rare. 



A STILL more honourable badge than in either of 
the cases above cited was awarded to a Pawnee brave, 
for his courage, generosity, and humanity. 

Pe-ta-la-sha-roo was the son of La-te-le-sha, or Old 
Knife, a Pawnee chief: Pe-ta-la-sha-roo was a brave, 
that is, one who has greatly distinguished himself in 
battle, and is next in importance to a chief. At the 
early age of twenty-one, this young man had, by his 
heroic deeds, acquired for himself the rank of " the 
bravest of the braves." 

The savage practice of torturing and burning to 
death their prisoners existed in this tribe. The hu- 



/ 



COURAGE OF PE-TA-LA-SHA-ROO. 83 

mane La-te-le-sha had long endeavoured to put a stop 
to this cruel custom, but in vain. In a warlike ex- 
pedition against the Iteans, a woman was taken pri- 
soner, who, on their return, was doomed to suffer 
according to their barbarous usage. 

The unfortunate victim was bound to the stake, 
and a vast crowd was assembled on the plains to 
witness the shocking scene. Pe-ta-la-sha-roo, unob- 
served, had stationed two fleet horses at a Httle dis- 
tance from the spot, and was now seated amongst the 
crowd, a silent spectator. All were now anxiously 
waiting for the commencement of the frightful tra- 
gedy, and the torch was already borne towards the 
funeral pile, when, suddenly springing from his seat, 
the youthful " brave" rushed forward, and, cutting the 
cords asunder which bound the captive, with the 
swiftness of thought he bore her in his arms beyond 
the amazed multitude ; then placing her upon one 
horse, and mounting the other himself, he bore her 
safely off to her friends and country. 

This act Vv^ould have endangered the life of an 
ordinary chief ; but such was the popularity of both 
father and son, that, on the return of the " bravest 
of the braves" to his village, no one presumed to cen- 
sure his conduct; and such was the influence of his 
good example, that since that time no human sacri- 
fice has ever been offered in this or any of the Pawnee 
tribes. 

The account of this transaction being circulated at 
Washington, during the young chief's stay there, 
whilst on a deputation from his nation to the Ameri- 



84 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



can government in 1821, the young ladies of Miss 
White's boarding-school in that city, in a manner 
highly creditable to themselves, resolved to give him 
some demonstration of the esteem in which they held 
him on account of his brave and humane conduct ; 
they therefore presented him with an elegant silver 
medal, engraved with an appropriate inscription, and 
accompanied by the following short but affectionate 
address : — 

Brother,— Acceipt this token of our esteem — al- 
ways wear it for our sakes; and, whenever again you 
have the power to save a poor woman from death or 
torture, think of this and of us, and fly to her relief 
and rescue. 

The Pawnee's reply was as follows : — 

'^/Sisters and Friends^ — This (meaning the medal) 
will give me more ease than I ever had ; and I will 
listen more than ever I did to white men. 

^^I am glad that my brothers and sisters have 
heard of the good act that I have done. My bro- 
thers and sisters think that I did it in ignorance, but 
I now know what I have done. I did it in ignorance, 
and did not know that it was good ; but by giving 
me this medal I know it." 

There is much pleasure in meeting with such in- 
stances of heroic conduct among the untaught savages 
of the West, and, as it has often been our lot to re- 
count the deeds of violence which are committed by 
the red men, it would be most unjust to suppress 
any traits of an opposite nature. 



MAGNANIMITY OF A SIOUX. 



85 



The Sioux are one of the most warlike and inde- 
pendent nations of Indians within the boundaries of 
the United States, and with them every passion seems 
subservient to that of war. They had long been at 
variance with the Sauteurs, or Fall Indians,* as they 
are also called, from theu^ lands being near the Falls 
of St. Mary. 

Cha-ta-wa-con-a-mee, chief of a small band of Sioux 
situated on the banks of the Mississippi, going out 
one morning at sunrise to examine his beaver trap, 
descried a Sauteur in the act of stealing it. He ap- 
proached so silently that he was not perceived, and 
while the Sauteur was engaged in taking the trap from 
the water, he stood deliberately surveying him with 
a loaded rifle in his hand. 

As the two nations were at war, and as the offence 
was in itself considered of the most heinous nature, 
he would have been thought perfectly justified in 
killing him on the spot; and the thief, on finding 
himself detected, looked for nothing else than imme- 
diate death. 

But the Sioux chief, with a nobleness of disposi- 
tion which would have done honour to the most en- 

* The St. Mary is a strait, or river, about eighty miles long, -which 
connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron. Near the head of this 
lake is the fall, or Sault de St®. Marie, where the river descends 
about twenty -three feet in half a mile. Canoes, and even barges, 
are towed up these rapids. 

H 



86 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



lightened man, calmly walked up to him, and thus 
addressed the astonished Sauteur : — " Be not alarmed 
at my approach ; I only come to present you with the 
trap, of which I see you stand in need. You are en- 
tirely welcome to it. Take my rifle also, for I see 
you are poor and have none of your own ; and now 
depart with it to the land of your countrymen, and 
linger not here, lest some of my young men who are 
panting for the blood of their enemies should dis- 
cover your footsteps in our hunting-grounds, and 
should fall upon you and kill you." 

So saying, he delivered his rifle into the hands of 
the poor Sauteur, and returned unarmed to the village 
of which he was so deservedly the chief. 



We copy from the North American of June 12, 
1849, the following thrilling adventure of Lieutenant 
Beall. It is a credit to the American name. 

Lieutenant Beall, United States Navy, is already 
well known to the country, having particularly dis- 
tinguished himself, on several different occasions, as 
a bearer of important despatches to and from Califor- 
nia, both through the heart of Mexico, during the 
war, and across the prairies and Kocky Mountains, 
forcing his way, with equal spirit, through civihzed 
and savage enemies. As a gallant naval officer and 
intrepid traveller, with the courage to face and the 



NOBLE ACTION OF LIEUT. BEALL. 87 

energy to overcome every difficulty and peril, we can 
well believe he has no superior ; but we have recently 
heard an anecdote told of him, being the account of a 
circumstance which happened on the last journey to 
Cahfornia, from which he has only so lately returned, 
which, while it illustrates the dangers of the road, 
proves that there is another quality in him higher 
than mere resolution and bravery, — a humane and 
generous disposition, which gives to those virtues the 
character of heroism. 

It was, we believe, in the Gila country, that Lieu- 
tenant Beall, having encamped his party, and placed 
it in safety, went out hunting. He set out alone, on 
a favourite saddle mare, which was generally kept up 
or spared for such occasions. About six miles from 
the camp, he had the good fortune to kill a deer ; and 
he was on the ground dressing the carcass, when, on 
looking up, he suddenly beheld a troop of mounted 
Apaches, who had discovered him, and were dashing 
furiously towards him. They had, doubtless, heard 
the report or seen the smoke of his rifle, and so were 
on him before he was aware ; but he knew very well 
that to be overtaken by them, a single white man 
among those naked hills which they called their own, 
was certain death; and, accordingly, leaving his 
quarry and mounting in hot haste, he relied upon the 
mettle of his mare, which he put to her full speed, to 
carry him back in safety to the camp. Away darted 
the young lieutenant, and on rushed the savages, 
thundering and yelling in the certain assurance of 
their prey. But confident as they were, the fugitive 



88 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



was quite as well satisfied of his ability to escape ; 
although their horses were fresher than the mare, and 
it was pretty certain they were gaining slightly upon 
her, and would give her a severe contest before reach- 
ing the camp. 

Thus assured of his safety, but not relaxing his 
speed, Lieutenant Beall had recovered half his distance 
from the camp, when, dashing over the crest of a hill, 
he was horrified at the sight of one of his own men, 
on foot, climbing the hill, and in fact, following in his 
trail to assist him in the hunt. The sight of the lieu- 
tenant flying down the hill at such a furious rate was, 
doubtless, enough; perhaps the poor fellow could 
hear the whoops of the Indians ascending the hill 
from the opposite side ; at all events, he understood 
his fate, and spreading his arms before the horse's 
head, he cried out, with the accents of despair, " Oh, 
Mr. Beall, save me ! I am a husband and the father 
of six helpless children !" Never was prayer more 
quickly heard, or more heroically answered. 

The lieutenant, though riding for his own life, im- 
mediately stopped his mare, dismounted, and, giving 
her to the man, said, "You shall be saved. Eide 
back to the camp, and send them out to give my 
body decent burial !" And so they parted, — the foot- 
man to escape, the officer, as he supposed, to be slain ; 
for the hill was utterly bare, without a single hiding 
place, and he thought of nothing but selling his life 
as dearly as possible. For this purpose, he drew his 
revolver, and, sitting down on the ground, waited for 
the savages; who in a moment came rushing over the 



NOBLE ACTION OF LIEUT. BEALL. 91 

brow of the hill, and then, to the unspeakable amaze- 
ment of Lieutenant Beall, dashed past him down the 
descent like madmen, not a soul of them paying the 
least regard to him, not a soul, in fact, seeing him. 
They saw, in reality, nothing but the horse and the 
horseman they had been pursuing for three miles; 
they knew nothing of a footman; and perhaps the 
sitting figure of the lieutenant appeared, to eyes only 
bent on one attractive object, as a stone or huge cac- 
tus, such as abound on those sterile hills. 

At all events. Lieutenant Beall, by what seemed to 
himself almost a direct providential interposition in 
his behalf, remained wholly undiscovered ; and in a 
moment more the Apaches were out of sight, still 
pursuing the horse and his rider to the camp. The 
latter barely succeeded in escaping with his life, the 
Indians having overhauled him so closely, just as he 
reached the camp, as to be able to inflict one or two 
shght wounds upon him with bullets, or perhaps with 
arrows. As for Lieutenant Beall, he was not slow to 
take advantage of his good fortune ; and selecting a 
roundabout course, he succeeded in reaching the 
camp just about the time the poor fellow whom he 
had saved, and the other members of the party, were 
about sallying out to obey his last request, and give 
his body decent burial. 

Upon such an act as this it were superfluous to 
comment. It is an act, however, which deserves to 
live in men's recollections, like the story of a great 
battle and victory. 



92 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




GENERAL KEARNY. 



The modern reader is too apt to regard Indian 
attacks and their consequent evils as events belong- 
ing to time long since passed. In our great cities an 
Indian is a curiosity; the land which once knew none 
but his ancestors knows them no more ; and their 
successors, the sons of civilization, know of the war- 
whoop, the midnight attack, and the burning village 
only through the medium of some dusty narrative. 
Hence many at the present day cannot conceive of a 
wild Indian ; or, if they can, he is regarded as the 
same degenerate, harmless being, as we see some- 



MASSACRE AT TAOS. 



93 



times exhibited in theatres and museums. It has 
been our desire to dissipate this delusion by relating 
various stirring events which transpired during the 
war with Mexico. That great event removed many 
a veil of prejudice, or ignorance, which had hitherto 
hung over American vision. It exhibited in his true 
colours a being hitherto unknown to the world — the 
western ranger. It made known adventures of hard- 
ship and daring, at which the boasted personal 
prowess of the heroes of antiquity sinks into insig- 
nificance or contempt ; and it displayed the important 
fact, that the Indians of the western wilds are the 
same daring, independent, and, in some respects, 
cruel race, that their progenitors were two hundred 
years ago. In addition to the incidents elsewhere 
related, we give below an account of the outrage 
committed by a party of Indians upon the American 
garrison at Taos, a trading post in New Mexico. 

In 1846, an American army, under General 
Kearny, marched into New Mexico and received 
the submission and oath of allegiance of the autho- 
rities at Santa Fe. After Kearny's departure from 
that city, the inhabitants conspired against the Ame- 
rican government; but their object was discovered, 
and its execution prevented. The population of 
New Mexico ir eludes no inconsiderable portion 
of Indians; and these people, inflamed, no doubt, 
by their Mexican neighbours, had entered heart- 
ily into the conspiracy. Although it had been 
discovered, they did not abandon the hope of execut- 
ing it ; and their superior cunning soon afforded them 



94 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



opportunity to make the attempt. On ttie IQth of 
January, 1847, a considerable number of tliem col- 
lected in the village of Taos to obtain the release of 
two companions whom the authorities had impri- 
soned. So singular a demand was, of course, re- 
fused ; when, without repeating it, the Indians mur- 
dered the sheriff and the Mexican prefect, broke into 
the prison, and released the prisoners. Instead of 
retiring, they then rushed through the ^dllage, and 
forced their way into a house where Governor Bent 
had but a short time previously taken up a temporary 
residence. In this extremity, the unfortunate man 
appears to have lost his presence of mind, neither 
fighting nor retreating until it was too late to do 
either. As the Indians approached his room, he 
decided upon retreating; but, being wounded in at- 
tempting to jump from the window, he returned, and 
was shot through the body by the Indians. Then 
followed a scene sickening to every one but a savage. 
The dying man was shot in the face with his own 
pistol, then scalped, and, lastly, nailed to a board. 
A Mr. Leal, acting at that time as district attorney, 
was killed by slow torture, after having been scalped 
alive. Some others were killed in another part of 
the village; and the Indians afterwards formed in 
procession, parading the bodies of the governor and 
attorney through the village. The object of the 
savages was undoubtedly to excite an insurrection , 
but in this they were again disappointed. 



ADVENTURES OF COLONEL HAYS. 95 




COLONEL HAYS, 



The war between the United States and Mexico 
brought into conspicuous notice individuals whose 
abilities for border warfare have since been a theme 
of wonder and admiration, both in America and Eu- 
rope. Born amid the wilds of Texas or of the west, 



* For the facts in this sketch we are indebted to Lieutenant 
Reid's "Scouting Sketches of the Texas Rangers." 



96 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



accustomed to the Indian's whoop and the glare of the 
burning village, they had early become initiated into 
danger, as to their natural element, and from early 
youth looked forward to the battle-field as the thea- 
tre of distinction and renown. At an age when the 
more favoured son of an Atlantic clime is quietly stu- 
dying amid the shades of a college, these youth of 
the wilderness, armed with rifle and revolver, were 
ranging the pathless prairie, surrounded on all sides 
with savage Indians, and rancheros still more sa- 
vage. In this school of excitement and danger, such 
men as Gillespie, Walker, and Hays studied the va- 
ried arts of border warfare. They met the Caman- 
che on his own ground and in his own element ; and, 
though he is the most dreaded of all Indians, they 
conquered him with his own weapons. They drove 
the robber and marauder from the Colorado and the 
Sabine across the Rio Grande, and avenged, on the 
prowling bands which attacked the border settle- 
ments, the massacres of Mier and of the Alamo. 
When war was declared against Mexico, they, with 
united heart, came forward against their old enemy, 
and, whenever employed, evinced a coolness and 
daring as wonderful as it was serviceable. 

One of the most famous of these partisans is Co- 
lonel John C. Hays, known among the Indians and 
Mexicans as " Captain Jack." His feats among the 
Camanches would furnish materials for a volume. 
In the year 1841, he formed one of a party of fifteen 
or twenty men, employed to survey some lands near 
what is called by the Indians the Enchanted Eock. 



ADVENTURES OF COLONEL HAYS. 97 

This rock forms the apex of a high, round hill, rug- 
ged and difficult to climb. In the centre is a circu- 
lar hollow, sufficiently large to allow a small party of 
men to lie in it, the projecting sides serving as a pro- 
tection from assault without. 

While the surveying party were engaged not far 
from the base of the hill, they were suddenly attacked 
by a band of Indians. Hays, being at some distance 
from the party, ascended the hill, and, intrenching 
himself within the Enchanted Rock, determined to 
sell his life as dearly as possible. He was well known 
to the Indians; and, being eager to secure him at all 
hazards, they mounted the hill, surrounded the rocky 
fort, and prepared to charge. Hays was fully sensi- 
ble that his life depended more upon his skill than 
his courage. Instead, therefore, of rashly throwing 
away his fire, whenever the Indians came near, he 
rose, presented his rifle and revolvers, and waited the 
charge. Knowing his unerring aim, they would fall 
back, and Hays would resume his former position. 
In this manner they alternately advanced and re- 
treated for more than an hour, howling in the mean 
time most frightfully. At last, ashamed to be foiled 
by one man, they rushed forward. Hays sprang to 
his feet and presented his rifle. They still advanced. 
He fired, and, seizing his revolver, discharged it 
rapidly among the crovrded mass. At the same time, 
by skilful manoeuvres, he avoided their arrows, and 
managed to load his rifle and pistol. The battle was 

maintained in this manner for three hours, when 
13 I 



98 THRILLING ADVEXTURES. 

Haj^s's men, having fought their way through the 
Indian ranks, advanced to his reHef. 

In July, 1844, Hays, with fourteen men, advanced 
toward the Pierdenales river, about eighty miles from 
San Antonio. At that time the Texan border was 
exposed to the excursions of the Camanches, and 
many famihes had either been carried away by those 
Indians or driven into the interior. It was for the 
purpose of discovering their haunts and of checking 
the movements of their marauding parties, Hays's 
party of Eangers had been equipped. Among his 
men were Walker, Gillespie, and others, who after- 
wards rendered themselves famous. On reaching the 
river, the party came in sight of about fifteen Ca- 
manches mounted on good horses, and apparently 
eager for battle. As Hays advanced, they retreated 
towards a thick copse of undergrowth, or chaparral, 
which convinced him that they were but a portion of 
a still larger party which lay there concealed. He, 
therefore, restrained the impetuositj' of his men. and, 
taking a circuitous route round the clump of chap- 
arral, drew them up on a ridge, separated from the 
enemy by a deep ravine. Immediately after, the 
Indians showed themselves to the number of seventy- 
five. Hays, aware that a battle could not be avoided, 
determined to choose his own ground and manner of 
conducting the attack. He moved slowly down the 
hill with his men until they reached the rapine, the 
sides of which hid them from the Indians, when, 
starting at full gallop to its extreme length, he turned 
the ridge and gained the enemy's rear. The Caman- 



ADVENTURES OF COLONEL HAYS. 99 

ches, having their eyes fixed upon the side of the 
ravine opposite to the point from which the Kangers 
had left it, did not perceive their danger until they 
were aroused by the report of a dozen rifles. They 
were immediately thrown into confusion, but soon 
recovered and prepared for the charge. Hays formed 
his men into a circle, and ordered each one to grasp 
his revolver. Twenty-one of the Indians were killed 
at the first fire ; the remainder fell back. Hays 
changed his position and charged furiously. A bat- 
tle ensued which lasted nearly an hour, the two par- 
ties charging and retreating alternately. The amu- 
nition of the Rangers was at length exhausted, ' " 
the Indian chief perceiving, he collected his warriors 
for a decisive struggle. 

Of Hays's little band, two were now killed, and 
four or five wounded ; the remainder were without 
efiective arms. The result, therefore, of a contest 
with some fifty Indians must be complete destruction. 
But, at the moment when the Camanches were bend- 
ing forward to the charge. Hays ascertained that Gil- 
lespie had not discharged his rifle. "Dismount im- 
mediately," exclaimed Hays, " and shoot the chief" 
That action decided the battle. Thirty of the In- 
dians were left dead upon the field. 



100 



THRILLITS'G ADVENTURES. 



Although, in early times, the Indians were the 
terror of our Trestern settlements, this fact must be 
ascribed to the scattered condition of the inhabitants 
and their paucity of number, rather than to any 
want of courage. Yet even in that period of misery 
and murder, a class of men were training themselves 
in the Indian's own school, to avenge the slaughter of 
their neighbours, wives, and parents. In all the arts 
and stratagems of war and the chase, the western 
hunter and pioneer was a real Indian. Not unfre- 
quently superior to his dusky antagonists in strata- 
gem and ingenuity. 

Two brothers named Poe were of this character. 
Each was remarkable for strength and gigantic size, 
qualities which rendered them conspicuous in nearly 
every affair with the Indians at that period. On one 
of these occasions, they started with six other men, 
in pursuit of a party of Indian marauders, who had 
been seen between Wheeling and Fort Pitt. Fearing 
an ambuscade, i\.dam Poe left the band, crossed the 
Ohio, and, concealed among the high weeds, searched 
about for the enemy. He soon perceived two Indians, 
one of them a powerful man, standing upon the 
shore watching for the white men. Poe took deliber- 
ate aim, but his gun missed, and the snap of the lock 
betrayed him. Too near to retreat, he sprang upon 
the bank, seized the large Indian by the breast with 
one hand, and the small one round the neck with the 



POe's adventure with two INDIANS. 103 



other, and threw both to the ground. The smaller 
one regained his feet, but while in the act of striking 
with his tomahawk, he received a kick which shook 
the weapon from his hand. Poe was now seized by 
the chief, while the smaller Indian regained his 
tomahawk and performed sundry flourishes around 
the hunter's head, preparatory to striking a fatal 
blow. Aware of the object of this scientific exhibi- 
tion, Poe calmly waited for the final stroke, when 
throwing up his arm, he saved his head at the ex- 
pense of his wrist. The chief now attempted to 
throw him down, but, extricating himself he seized 
his gun and shot his smaller antagonist dead. In- 
stantly the other seized and threw him to the ground. 
Poe bounded to his feet in a moment, when a struggle 
commenced which precipitated both into the Ohio. 
Here, in another element, the fierce combatants re- 
newed their struggle, one striving to drown the other. 
After each had several times been pushed under 
water, Poe, by a dexterous effort, seized the chief- 
tain's thick knot of hair, dragged his head under 
water, and held it until, as he supposed, life was ex- 
tinct. But no sooner had he loosed his hold, than 
the Indian was again erect, the struggle recommenced, 
and both were carried beyond their depth. They 
now aimed for the shore, each striving to gain it first, 
so as to seize one of the guns there. The Indian 
succeeded, and Poe made for the middle of the stream, 
so as to escape the shot by diving. Fortunately the 
chief first took the empty gun, which enabled Poe to 
get further into the river. At this moment two of the 



104 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

whites came up, and through mistake wounded Poe 
in the shoulder. He turned and swam bleeding 
toward the shore, and recognising his brother, called 
on him to shoot the Indian. This was done, and Poe 
plunged into the water to help his brother. Mean- 
while the dying Indian, to escape being scalped, 
threw himself into deep water and was drowned. 



^aptak battle feit| t^^ Ui^un InUm^* 

The recent Mexican war brought our soldiers, on 
more than one occasion, in contact with the various 
tribes of Indians inhabiting the wilds to the north 
and west of Mexico. The warriors of these nations, 
untamed as yet by bitter experience, displayed a 
courage and heroism that would have conferred hon- 
our on a Philip or a Tecumseh. One of the most 
spirited of these skirmishes, was an attack by a de- 
tachment of Colonel Doniphan's men, upon a party of 
Lipan warriors near the rancho of El Paso. The 
colonel was marching from Chihuahua to Saltillo 
(May 13, 1847) and had detached Captain Reid, with 
thirty men to El Paso, as an advance guard. About 
nine o'clock in the morning, the captain observed a 
party of Indians emerging from a gap in the moun- 
tains, five miles distant, and advancing toward the 
rancho. They numbered about sixty, and were re- 
turning from an attack upon a neighbouring Mexican 
town, where they had secured many prisoners and 



CAPTAIN REId's BATTLE. 105 

more than a thousand horses and mules. Although 
in arms against the Mexicans, Keid lost no time in 
deciding upon his course. The number of Indians 
was double his own; they had the advantage of 
ground; they could, if it were needful, retreat at 
once, and either escape or perhaps draw him into an 
ambush ; but he determined on rescuing the prisoners. 
At the word of command, each American was in the 
saddle, and the whole party bore down at full speed 
upon the Indians. The latter coolly awaited the 
charge, and opened the skirmish by a partial dis- 
charge of arrows. The Americans answered by an 
entire volley from their rifles. Immediately the In- 
dians, raising a yell, rushed forward and discharged 
their arrows with astonishing rapidity. After fight- 
ing for some time, the Americans were driven back, 
but having reloaded, they again charged and drove 
the Indians before them. The superior horsemanship 
of the latter afforded them great advantages. They 
waved their bodies in the saddles, galloped swiftly 
up and down, and by other methods known only to 
savages, contrived to elude the American balls. The 
battle continued nearly two hours, each party charg- 
ing and retreating alternately, and keeping up a con- 
tinual fire. At length the captain's men began to 
gain ground, inch by inch, as the Indians becoming 
discouraged, fought with less obstinacy and less skill. 
In the final retreat the latter suffered severely, leav- 
ing fifteen dead on the field and carrying away a still 
larger number, together with all their wounded. 
Nine Mexican prisoners were recovered and restored 

14 



106 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



to liberty, and a herd of one thousand horses and 
muleSj were apportioned, as far as practicable, to their 
original owners 

In this affair Captain Reid was the only American 
wounded, although some of his men had received 
arrows in their clothes. Throughout the battle he 
was ably assisted by Lieutenants Gordon, Spruel, and 
Winston. A Mexican horseman assisted during the 
skirmish, and with his lasso dragged down and killed 
two Indians. The medicine man of the Lipans was 
killed and left upon the field — a loss, no doubt, 
severely felt by the savages. During the day, the 
prefect of Parras waited upon Captain Reid, with an 
official document from the authorities and citizens of 
that place, expressing their admiration and gratitude 
for his noble conduct, and their sympathy on hearing 
of his wound. 



FIGHT OF COLONEL KINNEY. 



107 




CORPUS CHRIST I. 



Corpus Christi, rendered classic ground by its con- 
nection with the history of General Taylor's first Mex- 
ican campaign, was settled by Colonel H. L. Kinney in 
1838. He established there a trading post, which 
was long known among the Texans as Kinney's 
Eanch. Being the extreme frontier settlement, it 
was exposed to the incursions of the Lipan and Ca- 
manche Indians, which obliged the proprietor to lead, 
from the time of settlement until the Mexican war, 
a life of constant vigilance and battle. He was one 
of the calm, fearless men, peculiarly fitted by nature 
for a life of wild adventure ; and his many exploits 
among the Indians would afford materials for a most 
exciting narrative. One of these, the subject of our 



108 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



story, is his skirmish with a party of Camanches, 
under one of their celebrated chiefs, named Santa 
Anna. 

The Camanches are, perhaps, the most warlike 
tribe on the American continent, and were long 
dreaded by the Texans, the Mexicans, and the sur- 
rounding Indians, as their most formidable enemies. 
Seventeen of these savages, under Santa Anna, sud- 
denly attacked the houses near Kinney's Kanch, com- 
mitted devastations upon the lands and buildings, 
and hastily retreated. Colonel Kinney immediately 
summoned his neighbours, numbering eleven, mount- 
ed the swiftest horses, and overtook the Indians on a 
prairie. Both parties reined up, dismounted, and 
began skirmishing. At the distance of fifty yards 
the firing commenced, each man on either side sin- 
gling out his victim. After the fight had continued 
for some time, Santa Anna suddenly dashed to the 
front, and, holding his raw-hide shield before him, 
ran along the line of his opponents. The hunters 
fired on him ; but their balls rattled harmlessly on 
his shield. The object of this bold manoeuvre was 
soon apparent. The Indians, having drawn their 
antagonists' fire, rushed upon them. The colonel 
alone had time to mount before the whole savage force 
was mingling in a hand to hand struggle with him- 
self and his followers. One of the hunters was im- 
mediately speared and killed ; another was speared 
and shot in several places with arrows. A young 
Mexican, clerk to the colonel, was speared and had 
his horse shot under him. Kinney dragged him on 



FIGHT OF COLONEL KINNEY. 109 

to his own horse. Another spear pierced him, wound- 
ing Kinney also in the back. At the same moment 
the colonel parried a third spear, which penetrated, 
however, both sleeves of his buckskin hunting-shirt. 
He instantly wheeled his horse around, tearing the 
weapon from his sleeves. Meanwhile the clerk was 
clinging on to his throat. An Indian attempted to 
reach him, but was shot by Kinney. At the same 
moment the unfortunate boy was speared through the 
abdomen. He relaxed his hold and fell dead. An- 
other Indian aimed at Kinney, but he dashed his 
unloaded pistol in his face, and succeeded in wrest- 
ing the spear from him. 

Santa Anna had by this time become discouraged, 
and withdrew his men from the field. He had lost 
seven men. Of the colonel's party, three men and 
nine horses were killed, and all the survivors wound- 
ed. One had received five arrows, and was speared 
in two places. Considering the small number en- 
gaged, this skirmish was one of the bloodiest and 
most obstinate which had yet taken place on the 
Texas frontier. 




K 



110 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




On the 11th of November, 1778, seven hundred 
Tories and Indians, led by Brant and Butler, attacked 
the fine settlement of Cherry Yalley. Colonel Alden 
commanded the fort in the vicinity : on the 10th, the 
inhabitants, warned of the approach of the Indians, 
requested him to give them shelter in it. He refused, 
assuring them there was no danger. During the night, 
snow and rain fell, making the atmosphere thick and 
hazy. Favoured by that circumstance, the Indians 
in the morning approached the fort unperceived. The 
ignorance and mistakes of the colonel favoured them 
still more. Rushing into the settlement, the Indians 
surrounded the houses and summoned the command- 
ant to surrender. He endeavoured to escape, was 



ATTACK ON CHERRY VALLEY. Ill 

overtaken, killed and scalped. The guard, being out- 
side the fort, shared his fate or were captured. The 
family of Eobert Wells, consisting of himself, his 
mother, wife, brother, sister, four children, and three 
domestics, were massacred. J ane, his sister, had run 
to a wood-pile to screen herself The Indian who 
pursued her, deliberately wiped his bloody knife on 
his leggins, sheathed it, and seizing the girl, drew his 
tomahawk. She begged for life, and a Tory named 
Smith seconded her intercession. The Indian shook 
his tomahawk in defiance, and, with a blow, clove her 
skull. The wife of Samuel Dunlop, an aged minister, 
was kiUed; the old man was saved by a Mohawk 
chief, named Little Aaron, but he died in about a year ♦ 
in consequence of the shock then received. A Mr. 
Mitchell escaped to the woods ; the Indians murdered 
his wife and four children, and fired his house. He 
returned the next day, and, without a companion to 
assist him, carried his family on a sled to the fort and 
had them buried. Colonel Campbell was then from 
home ; on his return, he beheld his house in flames 
and his wife and children carried into captivity. 
Thirty-two inhabitants, principally women and chil- 
dren, were killed, and sixteen soldiers. Some few 
made their way to the Mohawk river ; the remainder 
were taken prisoners. Nearly all the houses and 
barns were burned. Subsequently the settlement 
was entirely abandoned. 



112 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




While the American army, under General Taylor, 
was stationed at Monterey, Major McCulloch with a 
small party of men was sent from that city to San 
Antonio. After crossing the Nueces about noon, the 
party dismounted, and, placing their horses near by, 
lay down upon the grass to rest. Suddenly two 
Camanche Indians galloped among the horses, and 
effected what is called by Spaniards a stampede, which 
consists in so frightening those animals as to hurry 



ATTACK UPON AMERICAN TRAINS. 



113 



them away at a headlong pace. Happily for the 
party, McCulloch's horse, and that of Captain Ches- 
hire, remained quiet. These two officers immediately 
mounted and hurried after the Indians. The major 
reaching them first, received several arrows, one of 
which wounded his horse. He dismounted and drew 
his revolver, but it would not go off. McCulloch and 
one of the Indians now began to manoeuvre, while 
the other Indian was creeping behind the major, so 
as to shoot him with his rifle. At this crisis, Ches- 
hire arrived ; McCulloch wished to charge, but Ches- 
hire resolved to try his rifle. It missed, and a run- 
ning fight ensued, during which the major advanced 
near enough to discharge his revolver. He fired twice 
without effect, the third time the pistol broke. Ches- 
hire fired with better success, wounding his man, who, 
however, made good his escape. Both Indians now 
retreated, and the officers seizing the horses of the 
party returned to their comrades. 



^UsLtka upon ^mtmm €mh ©orajpamk^^ 

At the capture of Taos, by Colonel Price, during 
the war with Mexico, a Delaware Indian named 
Nahcoma, who was prisoner at that place, was Hber- 
ated. In May, 1847, he started to return to his own 
country, but on the road encountered a band of In- 
dians, numbering, as he supposed, a thousand, and 
consisting of Camanches, Arapahoes, Pawnees, and 

15 k2 



114 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Osages. Being made prisoner, lie was spared, on con- 
dition of joining the band in a contemplated attack 
upon some white men. He assented; the whole 
party set out, and in a few days encountered an Ame- 
rican train of thirty mule teams and ten horsemen, 
a few miles below Walnut creek. The wagons were 
freighted with government stores for the use of the 
troops at Santa Fe. 

On perceiving this little party, the Indians halted 
and prepared for a charge. Of the particulars of the 
conflict that ensued little is known. The Americans 
were driven from their saddles, and not one escaped 
to tell the story. After this scene of slaughter, the 
savages rifled the wagons of such things as they re- 
quired, and drove the mules away. For his services 
in the affair, Nahcoma was presented with a fine 
mule, and permitted to depart. 

The above account, in substance, was given by Nah- 
coma himself, on his arrival in Missouri. There ap- 
pears little reason to doubt it, since the mule upon 
which he rode was recognised as one upon which a 
government officer had formerly set out for the west. 
The party is supposed to have been one commanded 
by Captain Miller. 

At the same place (Walnut Creek) another party 
of Americans was attacked by about one hundred 
Arapahoe Indians, in June, 1847. The assailants 
did not succeed so well as their comrades had formerly 
done. It seems that a Mr. Sharp and the wagon- 
master, had gone out in quest of buffaloes. They 
had not proceeded more than three hundred yards, 



MASSACRE OF AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS. 117 



when they were charged by three separate parties of 
savages. Sharp fired and killed a chief ; in the next 
moment he was riddled by balls and arrows, and fell 
dead. His companion, by simply presenting his gun, 
kept the enemy at bay, until the party arrived to his 
assistance. The Indians then retreated, carrying with 
them Sharp's scalp and more than sixty horses and 
<nules. 

A short time previous to this affair. Lieutenant 
Peck, with a train party was attacked by ninety Ca- 
manche Indians, and lost ten horses. He then fell 
back and waited two days in expectation of being 
joined by other trains. He was again attacked, how- 
ever, and lost all his animals. This second attack 
resulted in a rather serious skirmish, during which 
one Williams was severely lanced in the body, and 
several others had their clothing cut by balls. At 
the bend of the Arkansas, this unlucky party was 
attacked by Pawnees, who stole two horses and en- 
deavoured, without effect, to excite a stampede among 
the others. The train reached its destination with- 
out further injury. 



In the summer of 1847, a company of volunteers, 
under Colonel Easton, was encamped on the Arkan- 
sas, ready for service in the war then going on with 
Mexico. The men, being but raw recruits, were ac- 



118 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



customed to Wcander from camp, frequently unarmed, 
and sometimes to pass a considerable time in the 
wilderness. Along the wagon route on the north side 
of the river, there is so little timber that it was often 
necessary to cross to the other side to obtam it. In- 
stead of' going in a body and in regular order, the 
volunteers appear to have crossed, each by himself, 
or at best in squads of eight or ten. It was at length 
rumoured that Indians were in the "vdcinity, and the 
Americans became more careful; yet the fatal negli- 
gence of crossing the river unarmed was not al- 
together corrected. 

On the 25th of July, twenty-five men crossed to 
the opposite bank, and spread themselves over an 
area of several hundred yards. Suddenly a party 
of savages, supposed to number five hundred, rose 
from the grass and surrounded the volunteers. Most 
of the latter rushed for the river ; a few, happening to 
be armed, discharged their pieces and the remainder 
sought to break through the Indians into the outer 
country. One was chased into the stream and there 
killed ; another was severely wounded on the bank. 
A third, named Benjamin Frost, was observed to fight 
desperately with his clubbed rifle. That night, when 
the volunteers searched the ground for the slain, he 
could not be found. Next day, about noon, he was 
observed on the south bank of the river, whither he 
had crawled. He was able to speak, and stated that 
he remembered nothing after his fall, until he was 
awakened that morning by the firing in the camp. 
The Indians in scalping him had flayed his entire 



THE ROSE OF GUADALOUPE. 



119 



head. Four others were scalped. Altogether eight 
were killed and four wounded. The slaughter would 
have been much greater, but that the main body of 
volunteers, hearing the firing, crossed the river to 
assist their companions. The Indians, it was supposed, 
lost one killed and at least one wounded. They were 
Camanches and had among them a white man armed 
with a rifle, who at the beginning of the affair was 
heard to exclaim, " Come on, if you will fight." 



A STORY OF THE TEXAS KANGERS. 

The Camanche Indians are to Texas what the 
Pequots formerly were to New England, and what 
the Sioux still are to the traders and trappers of the 
West. Their incursions are still a source of terror, 
even to Americans; and among the Texan settlers 
many a story is told of parties surprised and mur- 
dered, of settlements broken up, and women or chil- 
dren carried into captivity. One of these, from the 
singularity of the circumstances attending it, cannot 
but be interesting to the reader. 

Several years ago, an old man, named Lockhart, 
lived on the Guadaloupe river, in what is known as 
the Great Bend. His favourite child was a daughter 
about seventeen years old, who, on account of her 
beauty and winning manners was familiarly known 
as the Hose of the Guadaloupe. Near the house was a 



.20 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



path leading to the Quero settlement, while, on every 
other side, vast prairies, stretching further than sight 
could reach, seemed to cut off the old man's house 
from every other human habitation. Over these the 
girl was accustomed to wander, carelessly gathering 
flowers, or engaged in some light work, while the 
anticipation of danger seems never to have crossed 
her mind. 

One evening, while thus engaged, she was startled 
by a loud noise, and suddenly a party of Camanches 
rushed from a neighbouring thicket toward her. She 
screamed and fled. The chief of the party pursued, 
and, as his horse swept by, he stooped from the sad- 
dle and lifted the girl on to the seat before him, with- 
out checking in the least the animal's speed. The 
party having accomplished their object, hurried with 
the fair prize to the mountains. 

This sight appears to have been witnessed by the 
father. He ran to the neighbouring settlement, and 
with a father's feelings spread the terrible news. 
Every one was in commotion. The hardy settlers 
left their work, seized their rifles, and set off in rapid 
pursuit. Lockhart led the party. With the tact of 
a backwoodsman, he followed the Indians day and 
night, and at length reached their mountain encamp- 
ment at evening. Here they had the satisfaction to 
find that their pursuit had not been discovered. They, 
therefore, secreted themselves among the neighbour- 
ing thickets and other objects, so as to be ready for a 
vigorous charge on the following morning. 

At daylight the Texans raised their war-shout and 



Miss Lockhart carried away by the Camanohe Chief. 
16 L 



THE ROSE OF GUADALOUPE. 



123 



rushed toward the village. The warriors were in- 
stantly roused; and, gathering in close array, awaited 
the charge. They numbered two hundred, while 
the Texans were but forty. The assault was that of 
brave men made desperate. It was received with 
firmness, and one of those war scenes began where, 
mingled with friend and foe, each man singles out 
his man in the cruel strife, not for fame, but revenge. 
All day that struggle went on. Sometimes the Tex- 
ans, sure of victory, were rushing into the village, 
when a vigorous charge would drive them back over 
the dead bodies of friends and enemies. Foremost 
in danger was Lockhart. He cheered his friends to 
duty; he engaged one after another of the enemy; 
he more than once approached so near the tent in 
which was his child that he could hear her voice call- 
ing to him. But the superiority of numbers pre- 
vailed. After a day of incessant battle, the Texans 
were forced from the field, dragging after them the 
wretched father. Through all the perils of that day 
he had moved as though possessing a charmed life ; 
and, though forced from the field, he came off unhurt. 
The little party returned sorrowfully to their homes. 

Some time after the battle, a treaty was made with 
the Camanches, and the girl was given up. But her 
health and her spirits were gone. In captivity she 
had suffered every extreme of hunger, privation, and 
abuse. A deep melancholy had settled over her once 
happy countenance, and the hours which she spent 
by herself weeping, showed that her heart was broken. 
She lived at home but a few months before death re- 



124 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



leased her from her sufferings. "We are indebted for 
the particulars of this remarkable capture and at- 
tempted rescue, to the " Scouting Sketches of the 
Texas Rangers/' an eloquent narrative from the pen 
of Lieutenant Samuel C. Reid. 



The rivers of New Brunswick are frequented by a 
great variety of fish, which ascend them annually to 
spawn. The principal of these are the salmon, stur- 
geon, bass, shad, gaspereau, smelts, and some others 
of less importance. The rivers also abound with a 
great variety of fish, which are constantly found in 



these waters, and never descend to the sea. These 
are the trout, perch, (red and white,) eels, cusk, 
carp, wach, dace, gudgeon, bleak, gizzard-fish, and 
an infinite variety of others, some of which have 
not even a name, and are yet undescribed by any 
professor of natural history. 




THE PERCH. 




THE SALMON. 



INDIAN FISHING IN NEW BRUNSWICK. 127 

When the salmon make their appearance in the 
Nashwak, fleets of canoes, each containing a couple 
of Indians, leave Fredericton to spear them by torch- 
light. The fish, checked by the falls, are collected 
in great numbers in the pools below. Nothing can 
be more exciting than this scene. The canoes, hurled 
about in all directions by the foaming tide ; the skill 
displayed by the Indians in forcing them up the ra- 
pids, and fending them off the rocks, or allowing them 
to plunge head-foremost down stream, when they sud- 
denly bring them to and transfix their fish. The 
eagerness of the chase, the contrast of the flaming 
torches with the black masses of the woods, and the 
fine attitudes of the men, dashing at the salmon with 
their long spears, form a wild and most animating 
picture. The spear, which is most destructive, is 
very simple in its construction, and does not lacerate 
or spoil the fish. A spike of iron is fastened between 
two jaws made of rock maple, into the end of a long, 
light fir pole. When the fish is stuck, the jaws open 
far enough to allow the spike to pierce and break the 
vertebrae of the spine, and, closing round the fish at 
the same time, hold it fast. 




THE STURGEON. 



The sturgeon of the New Brunswick waters are 



128 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



large, frequently eight feet in length, and sometimes 
twelve. They are a coarse fish, not at all esteemed, 
are seldom caught or molested, and therefore abound. 
When running up stream, they leap out of the water 
to a great height. A good story is told of an old 
squaw : whilst paddling down the river, one of these 
fish jumped on board her canoe with such impetus 
that it must have gone clean through the bottom, had 
not Molly Greenbaize, quick as lightning, seized it by 
the tail before the head and shoulders of the fish had 
got well through ; and, its progress thus arrested, it 
did the duty of a plug, until she contrived to work 
her canoe ashore. 

The trout-fishing is excellent, and nowhere to be 
surpassed, except, perhaps, in Labrador. No sooner 




THE TEOUT. 



does the ice break up, than mj^riads of flies appear 
upon the water, and the trout come upon them at 
once. The Indians, not being disciples of Izaak 
Walton, know no other means of fishing for them 
than by cutting a hole in the ice, when the fish in- 
stantly come to the aperture, and will take almost 
any kind of bait; they, however, do not consider 
them worth the trouble of fishing for, and only resort 
to the piscatorial art when in actual want on a hunt- 
ing expedition, or when other game fails. In the 



INDIAN FISHING IN NEW BRUNSWICK. 129 



Eedhead Eiver, some few miles from St. Johns, are to 
be caught the most delicious trout : it is a back-water 
from the sea, and is occasionally affected by it at very 
high spring tides, a circumstance which, no doubt, has 
its influence on the flavour of the fish. In the Lough 
Lomond Lakes, also in the chain of lakes beyond the 
Bald Mountain, having their outlet in the Musquash 
marshes, and in the rivers connecting these lakes, the 
fly-fishing is excellent. 




17 



130 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




MANDAN BUBYING-PLACE. 



The Indians have, in their different tribes, a variety 
of modes of disposing of their dead. Carver says 
the body is attired in the same dress it usually wore 
whilst living ; and other travellers inform us that a 
warrior's arms and his medicine bag are buried with 
him, for his use in the world of spirits. It is ascer- 
tained that, in former times, certain tribes deposited 
their dead in caverns, where many of them have been 
found placed in a sitting posture. The Sioux and 
Mandans (before the extinction of the last-mentioned 
fribe) erected stages on which they deposited theii 




Great Horned-owl of Virginia 



ADVENTURE AT AN INDIAN BURIAL-PLACE. 133 



dead. The engraving above represents a part of the 
burying-place in the vicinity of the principal village 
of the Mandans. "We have copied it from an engrav- 
ing in the splendid work of Prince Maximilian of 
"Wied, entitled "Travels in the Interior of North 
America." The prince tells us that near these stages 
were several high poles, with skins and other things 
hanging on them as offerings to the lord of life, Oma- 
hank-Numakshi, or to the first man, Numank-Ma- 
chana. 

Dr. Richardson, in his eloquent work, Fauna Bo- 
reali-Americana, relates a thrilling adventure at an 
Indian burial-place, in which the principal performer 
was the Great Horned Owl of Virginia, whose loud 
and full nocturnal cry, " Waugh Oo ! — Waugh Oo !" 
issuing from the gloomy recesses of the forest, bears 
some resemblance to the human voice, uttered in a 
hollow sepulchral tone, often alarming the traveller. 
A party of Scottish Highlanders, m the service of 
the Hudson's Bay Company, happened, in a winter 
journey, to encamp after night-fall in a dense clump 
of trees, whose dark tops and lofty stems, the growth 
of centuries, gave a solemnity to the scene that 
strongly tended to excite the superstitious feelings of 
the Highlanders. The effect was heightened by the 
discovery of a tomb, which, with a natural taste, 
often exhibited by the Indians, had been placed in 
this secluded spot. Our travellers having finished 
their supper, were trimming their fire preparatory to 
retiring to rest, when the slow and dismal notes of 
the Horned Owl fell on the ear with a startling near- 

M 



134 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ness. None of them being acquainted with the 
sound, they at once concluded that so unearthly a 
voice must be the moaning of the spirit of the de- 
parted, whose repose they supposed they had dis- 
turbed by inadvertently making a fire of some of the 
wood of which his tomb had been constructed. They 
passed a tedious night of fear, and with the first 
dawn of day hastily quitted the ill-omened spot. • 



A MOST striking tribute to worth was paid a few 
years ago, by a party of poor Indians who came from 
the back country to visit Philadelphia. 

When the statue in the Pennsylvania Hospital 
yard was pointed out to them as the figure of " Father 
Onas," or Penn, they all with one accord fell down on 
their knees before it j thus testifying, in the strongest 
manner in their power, their reverence for the cha- 
racter of one of the few white men who have treated 
their race with humanity. 

It was not an exhibition got up for effect ; it was 
the spontaneous result of feeling — of a deeply im- 
planted feeling, which neither time nor distance had 
been able to destroy. It had descended from father 
to son ; it had been cherished in the "Western wilds ; 
and it broke forth in the midst of civilized society, 
and was evinced by the strongest of natural signs — 
reverence on the Jcnee ! 



Indians before the Statue of Penn. 



TREEING A BEAR. 



137 




BLACK BEAE. 



The Indians consider the black bear as the most 
valuable of wild animals, and the chase of it as their 
noblest field-sport, its death being always followed by 
expressions of the greatest exultation. It is, indeed, 
highly useful to them; and, like the ox and the 
sheep, there is no part of it which is not applied to 
some useful purpose. The flesh is highly esteemed, 
and the paws are reckoned the richest bonne louche 
that the wild forests of America afford. The skin 
furnishes their softest couch, and their most sub- 
stantial protection against the severities of winter. 
Even the claws have their value : they are bored and 
strung upon the tendons of deer, to be worn as neck- 
laces and other ornaments. 

In the vicinity of Hudson's Bay, the black bear 

18 m2 



188 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



has been observed in the month of June to feed en- 
tirely on water-insects, when the berries are not ripe. 
These insects, of different species, are found in im- 
mense quantities in some of the lakes, where they 
are driven by gales of wind in the Bay, and, being 
pressed together in vast multitudes, they die. The 
odour which arises from this vast mass of putrefac- 
tion is intolerable. In some places they lie two or 
three feet deep. The manner in which the bears 
catch those insects, is by swimming with their mouths 
open, and thus they gather the insects on the surface 
of the water. When the stomach of the animal is 
opened at this season, it is found to be filled with 
them, and emits a disagreeable odour. The Indians, 
navigating the lakes in their light canoes, sometimes 
surprise a bear engaged in swimming after the insects. 
Then commences a highly interesting chase. The 
bear, finding himself assailed by the paddles of the 
Indians, makes for the shore, or for the nearest tree 
standing in the water. When fairly "treed," he is 
easily despatched by the arrows or rifie balls of his 
indefatigable enemies. 

The black bear is very indiscriminate in his feed- 
ing, and, though suited by nature for the almost ex- 
clusive consumption of vegetable food, yet, when 
pressed by hunger, he scarcely refuses any thing. 
Not only grapes, berries, green corn, and vegetables, 
but worms, slugs, turtles' eggs, small quadrupeds, and 
even carrion, form a part of his diet, as circumstances 
vary. 




•^ill..:.||||!^.^.JJJkll:illJl|J.lliJiJil;|^^y|^iili^lU 



I 



INSURRECTION OF THE PUEBLOS. 141 



New Mexico is one of the oldest settlements in 
America. The popular account, however, of its being 
founded by a party from the army of Cortez, seems 
to be incorrect; since as late as 1595, the govern- 
ment of Mexico was petitioned by Don Juan de Onate 
of Zacatecas, for permission to establish a colony in 
that region, already known as New Mexico. The 
petition was granted, and Onate entered the region 
near the Eio del Norte, with two hundred soldiers, 
and sufficient provisions, implements, and animals to 
support his colony for a year. He was honoured by 
the king with the hereditary title of marquis, the' 
offices of governor and captain general, a loan of 
twenty thousand dollars, privilege of working the 
mines exempt from taxation, and absolute power 
over the Indians. Under such extensive privileges 
New Mexico advanced rapidly in wealth and import- 
ance ; the Indians were christianized or put to death ; 
many valuable mines were discovered, and the Spanish 
colonists conducted themselves with that recklessness 
of human life, that avarice for gain, and that open 
violation of justice to the Indians, which had dis- 
graced their conquests in the southern provinces. 

For nearly a century the Indians bore oppression 
without resistance. Their lands were taken from 
them, their religion insulted, they were dragged to 
the mines and forced to labour like horses under the 
lash, they were sold by troops of scores and hundreds 



142 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



into the country of the plague and the vomito ; and 
yet they offered only submission, and kissed the hand 
which was lacerating them with stripes. But a day 
of reckoning was coming. About the year 1680, a 
great warrior from a distant tribe appeared among 
the Puehlos or christianized Indians of New Mexico. 
His eye burned with indignation as he looked upon 
the oppressions of his countrymen, and with a spirit 
worthy of Montezuma, whose descendant he professed 
to be, he contrived a plan to emancipate them. Pass- 
ing from tribe to tribe, he exhorted the chiefs of each 
to unite together ; to appoint a day in which to rise 
upon their oppressors, and then to massacre every 
white inhabitant. The 13th of August, 1680, was 
determined upon ; and so wily was the intrepid chief- 
tain that he did not permit a single woman to be let 
into the secret. But his designs were in a great 
measure frustrated by the treachery of two chiefs, 
who revealed the plot to the governor. 

On the appointed day, the work of death began. 
Servants rose against their masters, the slave dashed 
his load to the ground and burst furious from the 
mines, churches were broken into, priests and nuns 
were murdered at the altar, men, women, and chil- 
dren were involved in one slaughter. Governor 
Otermin had hastily exhorted the inhabitants to join 
him at Isleta ; they were met on the road and massa- 
cred. The affrighted remnant gathered within the 
fortification of Santa Fe and other cities. Five hun- 
dred Pueblos besieged the capital. They encamped in 
the deserted suburbs, and offered the citizens the al- 



INSURRECTION OF THE PUEBLOS. 143 

temative of massacre or an immediate evacuation of 
the province. The governor offered full pardon for 
all crimes if they would return to duty ; they laughed 
at the proposal and began the siege. A great battle 
was soon fought, which lasted all day, with heavy 
loss to both sides. That night the surrounding hills 
were covered by Indian hosts, hastening to assist 
their comrades. The dismayed Spaniards again took 
refuge behind their works; another siege of nine 
days ensued ; the water was turned from its course, 
and their animals fell dead one after another with 
thirst. In this extremity Otermin made a vigorous 
sally, drove back a portion of the besiegers, and secured 
provisions and water. But the relief was only tem- 
porary ; the Indians continued to increase, and at last 
the governor resolved upon evacuating the city. On 
the 21st of August, the little garrison set out on foot, 
loaded with heavy burdens and encumbered with a 
number of wounded on mules. They were not pur- 
sued, but as all provisions had been removed, they 
were in a short time reduced almost to starvation. 
After a few days, Otermin halted and sent for assist- 
ance to the lieutenant-governor. Some carts and a 
supply of provisions were received, and the party 
again proceeded until it arrived at Paso del Norte. 
Here they founded the town which goes by that 
name. 

In the following year, Otermin was superseded by 
Don Diego Zapata. The Indians held possession of 
the country, and this officer commenced the work of 
its reconquest. It was a work of difficulty, and lasted 



144 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ten years. A Pueblo village named Zia maintained 
a most obstinate siege against a force under Don Pedro 
Cruzate, in 1688. It was at length taken by assault. 
Six hundred Indians v^ere massacred^ and a great 
number captured for the mines. Among these was 
a great warrior named Ojeda. He had fought nobly 
for his liberty, and when taken was examined respect- 
ing the insurrection. He spoke Spanish well, and gave 
long details of the revenge which his countrymen had 
taken. The priests had been the especial object of 
their fury. The padre of Zia had been dragged from 
his bed, stripped, mounted upon a hog, and whipped 
through the village. He was then placed upon all- 
fours, some of the tormenters mounted his back by 
turns, while the others beat him until he fell dead 
under their blows. 

The second subjugation of these Indians was has- 
tened by their own internal feuds, by which whole 
villages were sometimes utterly destroyed. In 1700 
all resistance had been crushed, and the Indians were 
again subject to their invaders, although their condi- 
tion was much ameliorated. 




19 



Capture of Ojeda, 



SINGULAR FREAK OF A CREEK INDIAN. 147 




^iv^^lnx ^xth'k d a ©wefe Mian. 

It is not often that an Indian can be induced to 
leave his tribe or his country ; much less will he join 
the society of white men, and adopt its modes and 
observances. This ardent patriotism and jealousy 
of national dignity appear to be common to all sa- 
vage tribes ; and, though it may appear singular, yet 
well-attested facts sustain the assertion, that it is 
harder to wean a Laplander, a Tartar, or an Indian 
from the snowy sides of Hecla, or the boundless prai- 
ries of Oregon, than to induce a European to turn 
hunter. Of all the instances on record, in which In- 
dians have been partially civilized, leaving out of 
view the influence of religion, few were without a long- 
ing to return to the old mode of life ; but, on the 



148 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



other hand, the white captive, who has long resided 
with Indians, often rejects every overture of friends 
and relatives to win him back. The following is an 
instance where an Indian seems to have become dis- 
gusted with his condition, and sought amehoration by 
uniting himself with white men. 

In 1831, a party of American traders approached 
a village of Creek warriors, on the north branch of 
the Canadian. Soon after they had encamped, they 
were joined by one of the Indians, who, by signs, sig- 
nified his willingness to join them. The traders were 
suspicious of his intentions ; but, as he assured them 
that he would be one of their party, and had resolved 
not to return to the village, they received him. Next 
morning some little light was thrown upon the myste- 
rious affair. He had quarrelled with his wife ; and she 
now entered the traders' camp, wailing and howling, 
denouncing her own wicked conduct and imploring the 
forgiveness of her injured lord. His heart did not 
relent ; a brief deluge of tears could not drown the 
world of insults, quarrels, and bickerings which had 
for years degraded his character, and broken with too 
rude a spell his early dreams of romance. His dis- 
consolate partner returned to her home, and the In- 
dian set out with the traders. He proved a faithful 
and valuable companion, and soon became a favourite 
with the Americans. On reaching Santa Fe, he 
joined a company of volunteers under Mr. James 
Kirker, and assisted more than once in skirmishes 
with the Shawnee and Delaware Indians. He was 
ever a firm friend to the white men, and in his habits 
and feelings virtually civihzed. 



WHITE CAPTIVES AMONG THE INDIANS. 149 




The practice among the Indians of naturalizing 
captives, whether men or women, exists to an extent 
greater than is generally supposed, and in these in- 
stances the female captive is invariably obliged to be- 
come the wife of a brave. The feelings of a virtu- 
ous wife, or of a mother, when subjected to this law, 
may be imagined; but, when she has once become 
incorporated into the tribe, we cannot wonder at her 
unwillingness to return to civilized life. 

In 1805, the account of an instance of this kind 
was transmitted to the War Department by Dr. 
Sibley. Twenty years before, the wild Camanches 
made an irruption into the territory of Chihuahua. 
While every thing was hushed in sleep, they stole 
upon the residence of the governor-general, and suc- 
ceeded in carrying away his daughter. The wretched 
father afterwards ascertained where she was taken 

v2 



150 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



to, and to purchase her ransom transmitted one thou- 
sand dollars to a trader, then visiting the Camanche 
village. The chiefs immediately signified their as- 
sent J but the unhappy girl refused to return. With 
bitter tears, she sent word to her father that her face 
had been tatooed ; that she was the wife of a war- 
rior, and that she could not meet the unfeeling scorn 
which the knowledge of these circumstances would 
bring upon her should she return to her people. 

Numerous instances of a like nature may be found 
in the narratives of the traders, trappers, and adven- 
turers of the west. In 1832, a Santa Fe trader 
found a boy of eleven or twelve years old among a 
party of Camanches. He was a Mexican ; had been 
captured near Parral, and had remained a captive 
four years. He was sprightly and cheerful, retained 
full command of his native language, and evinced no 
desire to return. Of half a dozen other captives, 
questioned by the same trader, only one expressed a 
willingness to return. 



NIGHT ATTACK BY THE PAWNEES. 151 




The incident we are about to relate occurred on the 
10th of March, 1840, and, in the hands of the ro- 
mancer, might form the ground-work of a thrilling 
narrative. A party of hunters had halted on a wide 
prairie, having before them a deep ravine, which, as 
they supposed, would protect them from assault in 
that quarter. The night was cold, dark, and damp ; 
but a large fire was soon built, round which the sen- 
tinels sat at regular intervals, beguiling the weariness 
by tales of adventures and of home. This quiet re- 
laxation was interrupted by a sudden discharge of 
rifles, while a shower of balls whistled over and 
around the heads of the sentinels. This was suc- 
ceeded by the war-whoop and " Pawnee whistle," a 
circumstance that speedily convinced the traders of 
the nature of so unexpected an attack. At the next 
moment, each man was upon his feet and levelling 
his rifle ; but hostilities were for a while suspended by 
a rather ridiculous incident. Among the traders was 
a friendly Camanche ; he seemed deeply impressed 



152 



THRILLING ADVENT[JRES. 



with an idea that the assailants were of his own na- 
tion ; andj anxious for the common good, besides in- 
spired with a deep conviction of his own oratorical 
talents, resolved to set things right. He mounted a 
suitable position, and commenced a boisterous speech 
in genuine Camanche. This part of that night's 
scene, when both parties listened to a discourse which 
neither understood, when the orator greiv in propor- 
tion as danger thickened around him, and when hun- 
dreds of grinning savages were prevented from rid- 
dling him at once only because they did not under- 
stand what he was about, formed one of the few 
incidents in war which are not not serious. The con- 
clusion of his talk was still more ridiculous. By 
some unmistakeable signs, the orator ascertained that 
the congregation for which he was labouring was not 
Camanche, and, indignant that talent should have 
been wasted in vain, he suddenly seized his rifle and 
blazed away. This was the signal of battle. The 
Indians had stationed themselves in great numbers 
within the ravine, from which they poured forth a 
continuous shower of balls. The traders took refuge 
behind their wagons; but the darkness preventing 
them from distinguishing their foe, they were obliged 
to aim by the flash of their guns or to fire at random. 
The Indians kept up a continual shouting, in order to 
stampede the animals ; but in this they failed. Mean- 
while the traders used every exertion to maintain 
their position behind the wagons, and to preserve the 
lives of their animals. In this latter service some 
daring feats were performed. A Mexican named 



NIGHT ATTACK BY THE PAWNEES. 



158 



Antonio Chaves, rushed outside of the enclosure, 
seized a valuable horse which was there tied, and 
brought him into camp amid a shower of balls. The 
attack lasted nearly three hours ; but the Indians 
had fortunately aimed too high, so that only two 
white men were wounded. One horse escaped, and 
a mule was badly shot. Before daylight the Indians 
retired ; and, at the same time, a heavy fall of snow 
concealed their track, and prevented the traders from 
ascertaining the result of their defence. 

The Pawnee Indians seem to possess an inveterate 
hatred of the Americans. In October, 1847, a party 
of them attacked an American train under Mr. 
Wetherill. With nineteen men he was crossing the 
Arkansas river at night. A skirmish took place, in 
which the Pawnees were driven off with some loss. 
On the following night, the attack was renewed. 
One American was wounded in the arm ; another in 
the leg. A heavy and well-directed fire again drove 
the Indians away. 




20 



154 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




LIEUTENANT CARSON. 



Christopher Carson, "Kit Carson" as lie is fa- 
miliarly called, is one of the most remarkable cha- 
racters which the recent war with Mexico rendered 
conspicuous in the United States. At the age of 
fifteen he became a trader, and from that time until 
the present, he has passed his life in a continued series 
of wild, hazardous, and daring adventures. As a 
trapper, he is unrivalled in skill and success ; and in 
his numerous conflicts with the Indians, he acquired 
a name which was the terror of every hostile red 
man, and the envy of every hunter. His shot rarely 



Carson's adventures. 



155 



failed ; and through the wilds of a Missourian wilder- 
ness, none could guide a party of traders as he could. 
On account of his sagacity and steadiness under all 
circumstances, he was chosen to lead in almost all 
enterprises of unusual danger, and in all attacks on 
the Indians. On one occasion he tracked sixty Crows 
with only twelve men, cut loose the horses which 
they had taken from the white people, and which had 
been tied within ten feet of the log fort where the 
Indians had taken shelter, and made good his retreat. 
One of his narrowest escapes occurred during the 
night attack of the Tlamuth Indians, upon a small 
party of Americans under Colonel Fremont, who had 
lately arrived on an exploring expedition in New 
Mexico. This was in May, 1846. The account of 
this night attack cannot be given more forcibly than 
in Carson's own words : — 

" Mr. Gillespie had brought the colonel letters from 
home — the first he had had since leaving the States 
the year before — and he was up, and kept a large fire 
burning until after midnight ; the rest of us were 
tired out, and all went to sleep. This was the only 
night in all our travels, except the one night on the 
island in the Salt Lake, that we failed to keep guard ; 
and as the men were so tired, and we expected no 
attack, now that we had sixteen in party, the colonel 
didn't like to ask it of them, but sat up late himself 
Owens and I were sleeping together, and we were 
waked at the same time by the licks of the axe that 
killed our men. At first I didn't know it was that ; 
but I called to Basil, who was at that side, ' What's the 



156 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



matter there? — what's that fuss about?' He never 
answered, for he was dead then, poor fellow ; and he 
never knew what killed him — his head had been cut 
in, in his sleep ; the other groaned a little as he died. 
The Delawares (we had four with us) were sleeping 
at that fire, and they sprang up as the Tlamaths 
charged them. One of them caught up a gun, which 
was unloaded ; but, although he could do no execu- 
tion, he kept them at bay, fighting like a soldier, and 
didn't give up until he was shot full of arrows — three 
entering his heart : he died bravely. As soon as I 
called out, I saw it was Indians in the camp, and I 
and Owens together cried out ^ Indians.' There were 
no orders given; things went on too fast, and the 
colonel had men with him that didn't need to be told 
their duty. The colonel and I, Maxwell, Owens, 
Godey, and Stepp, jumped together, we six, and ran 
to the assistance of our Delawares. I don't know 
who fired and who didn't ; but I think it was Stepp's 
shot that killed the Tlamath chief ; for it was at the 
crack of Stepp's gun that he fell. He had an English 
half-axe slung to his wrist by a cord, and there were 
forty arrows left in his quiver — the most beautiful 
and warlike arrows I ever saw. He must have been 
the bravest man among them, from the way he was 
armed, and judging by his cap. "When the Tlamaths 
saw him fall, they ran ; but we lay, every man with 
his rifle cocked, until daylight, expecting another 
attack. 

" In the morning, we found, by the tracks, that 
from fifteen to twenty of the Tlamaths had attacked 



Carson's adventures. 



i5r 



us. They had killed three of our men, and wounded 
one of the Delawares, who scalped the chief, whom 
we left where he fell. Our dead men we carried on 
mules ; but, after going about ten miles, we found it 
impossible to get them any farther through the thick 
timber ; and, finding a secret place, we buried them 
under logs and chunks, having no way to dig a grave. 
It was only a few days before this fight that some of 
these same Indians had come into our camj) ; and, al- 
though we had only meat for two days, and felt sure 
that we would have to eat mules for ten or fifteen 
days to come, the colonel divided with them, and 
even had a mule unpacked to give them some tobacco 
and knives." 

Two days after this battle, Fremont's party came 
suddenly upon a large village of Tlamaths, contain- 
ing more than a hundred warriors. Carson was in 
advance with ten men. The Indians made a show 
of resistance ; when he fearlessly charged them, kill- 
ing some of the warriors and burning their village 
and fishing boats. " The women and children," ob- 
serves Carson, " we did not interfere with." A second 
battle was fought on the same day, during which a 
chief advanced upon Carson with a bow and arrows. 
Carson levelled his rifle, but it missed, and the next 
moment the arrow would have pierced his breast had 
not Fremont, observing the danger, drove his war 
horse against the Indian and knocked him down. 
"The colonel and Sacramento saved me," observed 
Carson with some humour. Sacramento was the name 
of Fremont's horse. 

o 



168 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



The following notice of Carson occurs in Mr. Kux- 
ton's " Life in the West/' just reprinted from the Lon- 
don edition by Messrs. Harper & Brothers of New 
York. 

" Kit Carson, paragon of mountaineers !* small in 
stature, and slenderly limbed, but with muscles of 
wire, with a fair complexion, and quiet, intelligent 
features. To look at Kit none would suppose that the 
mild looking being before him was an incarnate devil 
in the Indian fight, and had raised more hairj- from 
heads of redskins than any two men in the western 
country ; and yet thirty winters had scarcely planted 
a line or furrow on his clean-shaven face. No name, 
however, was better known in the mountains, from 
Yellow Stone to Spanish Peaks, from Missouri to 
Columbia River; than that of Kit Carson, ^raised' in 
Boonlick county of Missouri state, and a credit to the 
diggins that gave him birth." 

* Since the time of which we speak, Kit Carson has distinguished 
himself in guiding the several United States exploring expeditions 
under Fremont, across the Rocky Mountains, and to all parts of 
Oregon and California; and for his services, the President of the 
United States presented the gallant mountaineer with the commission 
of lieutenant in a newly raised regiment of mounted riflemen, of 
which his old leader, Fremont is appointed colonel. 

-f"To raise Jiair/' is the expression used by the trappers and 
hunters in the western country for scalping. 



BATTLES OF AMERICANS WITH INDIANS. 159 




On the 29th of May, 1847, Major Edmonson, with 
one hundred and seventy-five men, was attacked by 
four hundred Mexicans and Apache Indians, at the 
Red River canon. The Americans laboured under 
much disadvantage, having dismounted for the pur- 
pose of crossing a deep miry morass, in which the 
horses sunk to the middle. In this situation they 
fought a host of savages for two hours, dealing de- 
struction through their ranks, and endeavouring to 



160 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



bring their horses together for a charge. In the lat- 
ter they failed, and, in order to prevent an entire 
slaughter of the animals, the major ordered a retreat. 
Meanwhile Lieutenant Elliott, with twenty-seven 
rangers, posted himself in full view of the Indians, 
and by daring manoeuvering, united with great 
bravery, succeeded in covering the retreat of the 
main party. The horses were all shot or captured. 

A still more severe battle was fought by Lieutenant 
Love, with a large party of Mexicans and Camanches 
near the Pawnee Fork. The particulars of this 
affair are so well described by an officer who shared 
its dangers, that we give them in his own words. 
The battle occurred June 26th, 1847. 

On the 23d, we arrived at the Pawnee Fork, and 
there met two government trains of provision wagons 
destined for Santa Fe, and learned from them that 
the day previous the Indians charged on them as 
their cattle were grazing, wounding three men — 
one severely — and driving off from traders and a 
return train of government wagons under Mr. Bell, 
some seventy yoke of oxen, leaving twenty wagons 
and a considerable quantity of provisions and other 
property without the means of transportation. The 
wagons and property were burned to prevent their 
falling into the hands of the Indians. Next day, 
(the 24th,) we travelled up to the Fork and en- 
camped, and on the 25th to this place, on which day 
I was in charge of the guard, and the night passed 
over without any alarm, although every vigil-ance and 
orecaution was used. Next morning, the 26th, im- 



BATTLES OF AMERICANS WITH INDIANS. 161 



mediately after reveille, Hayden's train, which was 
encamped about five hundred yards due west from 
the guard-tent, drove their oxen from the corell to 
graze. All were scarcely out, when a large band of 
Camanches and Mexicans emerged from a ravine 
called Coon creek, about two hundred yards west, 
and charged furiously on the teamsters and herdsmen, 
wounding three and driving off one hundred and 
thirty yoke of government oxen, and thirty yoke 
belonging to a trader who was accompanying them. 
One conspicuous Indian rode within carbine range. I 
fired and killed the horse from under him, and, as far 
as could be ascertained, wounded himself 5 however, 
he was soon behind another Indian. In the mean 
time the camp was armed, and some eighteen or nine- 
teen mounted dragoons were ordered out under my 
command, for the purpose of retaking the cattle. 
When my command reached within one hundred and 
fifty yards of the enemy, I halted, and formed in ex- 
tended line, expecting to rally on a body of teamsters 
who were out as footmen ; then charged on the In- 
dians, and forced them to retreat. As they were re- 
treating, a large body of well-mounted Indians crossed 
the river between me and the camp on my left, and 
charged us in the rear with great fury, preventing us 
from rallying, and obliging us to cut our way through 
them. About this time I was shot, and charged on 
by several Indians. I made my sabre, however, 
drink blood, having killed one and wounded another. 
Every man in my little command fought bravely and 

manfully, and five of my poor fellows were killed^ 
21 02 



162 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



defending themselves to the last, and selling their 
lives at a dear rate, and six wounded — three more 
besides myself severely wounded. The killed were 
Arlidge, Deckhart, Short, Gaskill, and Blake. The 
wounded, myself, Yancaster, Lovelace, and Ward, 
severely, and Burk and Wilson slightly. The severe 
loss we met with I attribute to the almost unma- 
nageable state of the horses, all being new in the 
service, and to the Indians being permitted to charge 
on us from behind. The enemy took off the cattle, 
scalped three men, and took off the horses, equipments, 
arms and ammunition, and the clothes of the dead. 
The Indians, when in a body, numbered about five 
hundred. I make no comments, I merely give you 
the facts as they occurred before me. The Indians 
were all armed with lances measuring from twelve to 
fifteen feet in length, bows and arrows, and a great 
many with rifles and muskets. There were some 
white men among them. Several of our men saw 
them as well as myself The air was actually as 
dark as if a flight of birds were hovering over us, 
from the balls, lances, and arrows that were flying 
through the air. Twelve or fifteen of the enemy are 
known to have fallen — perhaps more — but were im- 
mediately carried off. Four of their horses were left 
dead on the ground. Since then, we remain here, 
merely changing positions for the purpose of pastime. 
To-morrow, I understand, we will proceed again on 
our route, arrangements being made to take all the 
trains along, with somewhat less team, however. 
The Indians have attacked every train that has gone 



BATTLE OF AMERICANS WITH INDIANS. 



163 



out or come in this year, and are bound to attack 
every train that will follow. These Camanches, Paw- 
nees, and Arrapahoes deserve a castigation that would 
ever after keep them quiet, and which they are sure 
some day to receive. 

Lieutenant Love was in a most distressing situa- 
tion. Never has man suffered, I believe, more in one 
day than he suffered. Here were twelve wagons, 
with six mules to each — provisions, and all the specie, 
that he could not by any possible means abandon, as 
another large force were ready to attack the camp if 
he were to go out with a large force ; and yet he saw 
the awful situation in which we were placed, and 
could not give us the slightest aid or assistance. I 
am convinced that he acted prudently and wisely ; 
for it has been his special care to take all the precau- 
tions that an experienced officer could take to save 
his men and animals ever since he commenced his 
march." 

Such was the character of the Indian aggression 
on the route to New Mexico. The violence was, 
however, confined to the Camanches, and to a small 
portion of the Arrapahoes, and the band of Pawnees 
south of the Platte. This violence the United States 
government took effectual measures to quell, by plac- 
ing a competent force under command of Colonel 
Gilpin, who had signally distinguished himself with 
Doniphan, in Chihuahua. 



164 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



On the 18th of March, 1690, the town of Berwick, 
in Maine, was attacked by a body of French and In- 
dians, under command of Hertel de Eouville and 
Whoop Hood, a sachem. After killing about thirty 
of the inhabitants and capturing fifty o»thers, they 
hastily retreated, and, though pursued by a body of 
Englishmen, succeeded in escaping. One of their 
prisoners, named Eogers, was unable to keep pace 
with his captors ; while lagging behind, loaded with 
a heavy pack, he threw it down and attempted to 
escape. After running some distance, he hid in a 
hollow tree ; but hither he was traced and discovered. 
After being stripped and beaten, he was pushed for- 
ward on his journey until evening. They then halted 
and encamped, and, while preparing a feast, tied the 
prisoner's hands behind his back, fastened him to a 
stump, and began dancing and shouting around him. 
They then made a great fire near the unfortunate 
man, and, with savage malignity, bade him take leave 
of his friends, giving him at the same time a few mo- 
ments to loray. They then moved the fire gradually 
forward, roasting him by degrees ; when the agony 
of the sufierer had almost exhausted him, they with- 
drew the coals ; thus increasing his misery, both by 
its length and by the alternations of torture. At in- 
tervals they cut slices of flesh from his perishing 
frame, laughed at his agonies, and answered his 
groans by insults and mockery. Meanwhile the 



INDIAN CRUELTY TO A PRISONER. 



167 



other captives were placed outside the fire that they 
might behold their companion's death. When the 
wretched man had expired, they seated his body on 
the coals, that at some future time his friends might 
be tortured by the sight. 




A TAIOOED IKDIAN. 



168 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




MANDAN MEDICINE LODGE. 



The Indians are capable of the most extraordinary 
acts of self-sacrifice, under the influence of supersti- 
tion or of patriotism. Mr. Catlin, in his interesting 
account of the Indians, has given us a narrative of the 
strange religious ceremonies of the Mandans in their 
Medicine Lodge, where they spent four days in a 
series of self-tortures and mutilations too horrible for 
us to relate, all of which was done from a principle of 
obedience to their peculiar superstitious notions. 

The other tribes exhibit instances not less remark- 
able of self-sacrifice from patriotic motives. 

Every Indian is proud of his connection with his 
tribe, jealous of its honour, and implacable when vin 
dicating it. A striking instance of this occurred in 
Warren county, Illinois, which will remind the 
reader of an incident in Edward Third's siege of Ca- 
lais. Four Indians of the Sac tribe had murdered 
some white men, and the War Department instructed 



INDIAN PATRIOTISM. 



169 



the United States' agent to demand the murderers. 
Keokuck, the Indian chief, stated that they were out 
of his reach, but that he would consult with his tribe 
upon the course to be pursued. On calling the chiefs 
together, he stated the circumstances, together with 
his apprehensions that the Great Father would send 
an army into the nation to avenge his murdered chil- 
dren. On hearing this, four young men offered them- 
selves to be delivered to the agent as the offenders. 
They were taken by Keokuck to the agent, who im- 
mediately threw them into prison to await their trial. 

When the court convened, Keokuck appeared as a 
witness for the prosecution. He stated before the 
grand jury, that the prisoners were not the men who 
had committed the murder, they having fled from the 
tribe ; but that he supposed the court would be satis- 
fied, if any four of his young men were delivered up 
to justice. Of course the prisoners were immediately 
discharged. 




22 



AN INDIAN LODGE. 
P 



170 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




MISSIONAKY PEEACHING 10 THE INDIA 



The Indians are remarkable for their sense of pro- 
priety. In a deliberative assembly, tbey preserve 
the strictest decorum. The speakers address the 
assembly in a certain order, according to their rank. 
No speaker is ever interrupted, or coughed down, or 
called to order, as among civilized nations. This cha- 
racteristic of the Indians has been of great service to 
the whites in their intercourse with them. It has ob- 
tained a patient hearing of our deputies in all nego- 
tiations and treaties; and it has procured for the 
numerous missionaries who have been sent among 
them a respectful attention. This sense of propriety 
in the Indians appears in the following anecdote. 

History presents few instances of greater valour and 
magnanimity than are displayed in the character of 
Opechanchanough, an Indian chief Bold, artful, in- 
sinuating, skilled in dissimulation and intrigue, he 
for many years kept the settlers of Virginia in a state 
of continual alarm, and more than once menaced 



IXDIAX SENSE OF PROPRIETY. 



17X 



them with destruction. Although so decrepit by age 
as to be unable to walk, he commanded in person, 
and directed from the litter on which he was borne, 
the onset and retreat of his warriors in the dread- 
ful massacre of 164:1, which almost exterminated the 
colonists. The excessive fatigues of this campaign 
completed the wreck of his constitution. His flesh 
wasted away, his sinews lost their elasticity, and 
his evelids huns: so far over the balls as to obscure 
their sight. In this forlorn condition, bending under 
the weight of years, and worn out by the hardships 
of war, he was surprised, and carried captive to James- 
town. After some time he was shot by one of the 
soldiers appointed to guard him. 

To the last moment his courage remained un- 
broken. It supported him in adversity and prosperity, 
in sickness and in death. Just before he expired "he 
heard," says the historian, " an unusual bustle in his 
prison; having ordered his attendant to lift' up his 
eyelids, he discovered a number of persons crowding 
around him to gratify an unseasonable and cruel 
curiosity. The dying chief felt this indignity with 
a keenness of sensibility, the more violent as it was 
new and unforeseen. It was a burst of passion, a 
momentary ascendancy of nature over the habit of 
education, and its exhibition and effect must be ac- 
knowledged to correspond with the greatness of the 
occasion. Without deigning to notice the intruders, 
he raised himself from the earth, and with a voice 
and tone of authority, commanded that the governor 
should be immediately called in. When he made his 



172 



THRILLING ADVENT L^RES. 



appearance, Opechanclianougii scornfully told him, 
"that had it been his fortune to take Sir William 
Berkely prisoner, he would not meanly have exposed 
him as a show to his people !" 

What nobleness of spirit ! What matchless hero- 
ism ! At the age of one hundred j-ears, blind, unable 
to stand, wounded and captive, his courage was un- 
subdued. The prospect of power and incentive of 
example are the usual sources of splendid actions j 
it remains for the truly great soul to preserve its 
equanimitj' in the gloom of dungeons and the embrace 
of death. 

The exploits of this extraordinary man, in the 
\dgour of life, are unknown to us. We saw him only 
for a short time on the edge of the horizon, but from 
the lustre of his departing beams, we may easily con- 
ceive what he was in his meridian blaze. 



In 1779, a Mr. Morgan, of Ricket's Fort, West 
Virginia, was surprised in the woods by two Indians, 
who immediately gave chase. Being old and some- 
what infirm, he faltered in the race, and was obliged 
to take refuge behind a tree: the Indians did the 
same, but one of them exposing his body, was shot 
by Morgan, and, after falhng, stabbed hunself. Mor- 
gan again fled ; but his surviving antagonist gained 
rapidly u])on him, and at length raised his gun to fire. 




Mr. Morgan's Adventure. 



ENCOUNTER WITH TWO INDIANS. 175 

Morgan adroitly stepped aside, and the ball passed 
him. Then each rushed to closer combat. Morgan, 
while striking with his gun, received the Indian's 
tomahawk, which cut off a finger, and knocked the 
gun from his grasp. Being an expert wrestler, he 
closed, and threw his antagonist ; but he was speedily 
overturned, when the Indian, uttering the customary 
yell of triumph, began feeling for his knife. Its hilt 
was entangled in a woman's apron, which the savage 
had tied round his waist ; and this apparently trivial 
circumstance saved the prostrate hunter. During 
the search, Morgan had seized his antagonist's fingers 
with his teeth, a position in which he used all becom- 
ing exertions to keep them. Meanwhile he assisted 
in the search for the knife. The Indian at length 
seized it, but so far toward the blade, that Morgan 
caught hold of the upper portion of the handle, and 
drew it through his adversary's hand, inflicting a deep 
wound. Both sprang erect, Morgan still holding on 
to the Indian's fingers and having his body within his 
grasp. He had therefore all the advantage, and 
while his foe was struggling to disengage himself, he 
plunged the knife to the hilt in his body. The dar- 
ing old hunter returned to the fort in triumph. 



176 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



iProp^jt of ^JlsQ^m^* 

About fifty years ago, one of the missionaries to 
the Indians was on his way from Tuscarora settlement 
to the Senecas. As he was journeying along, in pious 
meditation^ through the forest, a majestic Indian 
darted from its recesses and stopped his progress. 
His hair was somewhat changed with age, and his 
face marked with the deep furrows of time ; but his 
eye expressed all the fiery vivacity of youthful pas- 
sion, and his step was that of a warrior in the vigour 
of manhood. 

White man of the ocean, whither wanderest 
thou ?" said the Indian. 

I am travelling," replied the meek disciple of 
peace, towards the dwellings of thy brethren, to 
teach them the knowledge of the only true God, and 
to lead them to happiness and peace." 

" To happiness and peace !" exclaimed the tall 
chief, while his eyes flashed fire. " Behold the bless- 
ings that follow the footsteps of the white man ! 
Wherever he comes the red men of the forest fade 
away like the mists of morning. Our people once 
roamed in freedom through the woods, and hunted, 
unmolested, the beaver, the elk, and the bear. From 
the further side of the great water came the white 
man, armed with thunder and lightning. In war, 
he hunted us Hke wild beasts; in peace, he destroyed 
us by deadly liquors. Depart, dangerous man, and 
may the Great Spirit protect you on your journey 



THE PROPHET OF THE ALLEGHANY. 177 

homeward ; but I warn you to depart !" The tall 
chief darted into the wood, and the good missionary 
pursued his way with pious resolution. 

He preached the word of God, he taught them the 
name of our Saviour, and many of the poor Indians 
heard and believed. In the course of eighteen 
months, their devotion became rational, regular, and, 
as the missionary hoped, permanent. 

But, alas ! all at once the little church in which 
the good man used to teach his flock became desert- 
ed. No one came to listen with reverence to the 
pure doctrines which they once delighted to hear, and 
only a few idlers were seen on a Sunday morning, 
lounging about, and casting a wistful, yet fearful 
look, at their peaceful, but now silent mansion. 

The missionary sought them out, and explained to 
them the sinfulness of those, who, having once 
known, abandoned the religion of the only true God. 
The poor Indians shook their heads, and told him 
that the Great Spirit was angry with them, and 
had sent a prophet to warn them against listening 
to new teachers ; that he would soon come amonofst 
them, when there would be a great meeting of the 
old men, and he would then deliver to the people the 
message the Great Spirit had intrusted him with. 
The zealous missionary, anxious to confront the im- 
postor whom he had heard spoken of as the "Prophet 
of the Alleghany," and who was the brother of the 
famous Tecumseh, asked and obtained permission to 
appear at the council, when it was to be determined 

23 



178 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



whether they should follow the religion of their fa- 
thers, or that of the white men. 

The council-house not being large enough to con- 
tain so vast an assemblage of people, thev met in a 
vallev west of Seneca lake. This valley is embow- 
ered under loftv trees. On every side it is surrounded 
with high, rugged hills, and a little stream Avinds 
through it. It was a scene that no one could look 
on with indifference. On a smooth level, near the 
bank of the stream, and under the shade of a wide- 
spreading elm, sat the chief men of the tribe. Around 
the chcle which they formed was gathered a crowd 
of wondering savages, ^vith eager looks seeming to 
demand the true God at the hands of their wise men. 
In the middle of the circle sat the aged and way- 
worn missionary. A few gray hairs were scattered 
over his forehead; his hands were crossed on his 
breast; and, as he turned his hope-beaming eyes 
towards heaven, he seemed to be calling with pious 
fervour upon the God of trutli, to vindicate his own 
eternal word by the mouth of his servant. 

For several minutes there was deep silence in the 
valley, save the whispering of the wind in the trees, 
and the gentle murmuring of the stream. Then all 
at once the hum of many voices was heard through 
the crowd, for the prophet of the Alleghany was seen 
descending one of the hills, "^^^ith hurried steps and 
furious looks he entered the circle ; and the mission- 
ary saw with surprise the same tall chief who, two 
years before, had crossed him in the Tuscarora forest. 
The same deer-skm hung over his shoulders, the 



Tecumseh and the Prophet. 



THE PROPHET OF THE ALLEGHANY. 181 

same tomahawk glittered in his hand, and the same 
fiery and turbulent spirit shot from his eyes. He 
addressed the awe-struck savages, and the whole val- 
ley rung with the sound of his iron voice. 

^'Red men of the woods ! hear what the Great Spirit 
says to his children who have forsaken him ! 

" There was a time when our fathers owned this 
island.* Their lands extended from the rising to the 
setting sun. The Great Spirit made it for their use. 
He made the buffalo and the deer for their food ; the 
beaver and the bear, too, he made, and their skins 
served us for clothing. He sent rain upon the earth, 
and it produced corn. All this he did for his Eed 
children, because he loved them. But an evil day 
came upon us. The White men crossed the water 
and landed on this island — their numbers were small ; 
they found friends, not enemies. They told us they 
had fled from their own country, because of wicked 
men, and had come here to enjoy their own religion. 
We took pity on them, and they sat down amongst 
us. Their numbers increased ; they wanted more 
land — they wanted our country. They wanted to 
force their religion upon us, and to make us their 
slaves ! 

" Eed men of the woods ! have ye not heard at even- 
ing, and sometimes in the dead of night, those mourn- 
ful sounds that steal through the deep valleys and 
along the mountain sides ? These are the wailings 



* The Indians of North America invariably call their c Duntry an 
« Island.^' 

Q 



182 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



of those spiiits whose bones have been turned up by 
the plough of the White man, and left to the mercy 
of the rain and wind. The}' call upon you to avenge 
them, that they may enjoy their blissful paradise far 
beyond the blue hills ! 

" Hear me, 0 deluded people, for the last time I — 
This wide region was once your inheritance ; but now 
the cry of revelry or war is no more heard on the 
shores of the majestic Hudson, or on the sweet banks 
of the silver Mohawk. The eastern tribes have long 
since disappeared — even the forests that sheltered 
them are laid low ; and scarcely a trace of our nation 
remains, except here and there, the Indian name of 
a stream, or a village. And such, sooner or later, 
will be the fate of the other tribes ; in a little while 
they will go the way that their brethren have gone. 
They will vanish like a vapour from the face of the 
earth : their very history will be lost in forgetfulness, 
and the places that now know them will know them 
no more. T7e are driven back until we can retreat 
no farther ; our hatchets are broken ; our bows are 
snapped; our fires are extinguished; a little longer 
and the Wliite man tvill cease to persecute us, for we shall 
cease to exist r The Prophet ended his speech, which 
was delivered with all the wild eloquence of real or 
fancied inspiration, and, all at once, the crowd seemed 
to be agitated with a savage feeling of indignation 
against the good missionary. 

When this emotion had somewhat subsided, the 
mild apostle obtained permission to speak in behalf 
of Him who had sent him. Surely there never was 



THE PROPHET OF THE ALLEGHANY. 183 

a more touching and beautiful figure than that of this 
good man. He seemed to have already exceeded the 
term of years allotted to man by the Psalmist ; and, 
though his voice was clear and his action vigorous, 
yet there was that in his looks which seemed to for- 
bode that his pilgrimage was soon to close for ever. 

With pious fervour he described to his audience 
the power and beneficence of the Creator of the uni- 
verse. He told them of Christ's promise of eternal 
happiness to those who hear his word and do his will; 
and, when he thought that he had duly impressed 
their minds with this important part of his subject, 
he proceeded to set before his attentive audience the 
numerous advantages of civilization. He contrasted 
the wild Indian roaming through the desert in savage 
independence, now revelling in the blood of his ene- 
my, and in his turn the victim of his cruel ven- 
geance, with the peaceful husbandman, enjoying, in 
the bosom of his family, all the comforts of a culti- 
vated life in this happy land ; and he finished by a 
solemn appeal to Heaven, that his sole motive for 
coming amongst them was the love of his Creator 
and of his fellow-creatures. 

As the benevolent missionary closed his address, 
Sagouaha, {the Keeper awake,) or, as he is usually 
called. Red Jacket, a Seneca chief of great authority, 
and one of the most eloquent of his nation, rose and 
enforced the exhortations of the venerable preacher. 
He pleaded the cause of religion and humanity, and 
concluded his speech with these remarkable words : — 

" Friends and brothers ! It was the will of the 



184 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. 
He orders all things, and has given us a fine day for 
our council. He has taken his garment from before 
the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon 
us. Our eyes are opened, so that we see clearly ; our 
ears are unstopped, so that we can hear the good words 
that have been spoken. For all these favours we 
thank the Great Spirit." 

The council then deliberated for nearly two hours ; 
at the end of which time, the oldest man arose and 
solemnly pronounced the result of their conference : 
"That for the future they would worship the God of 
the Christians; and that the missionary who had 
taught them his laws ought to be cherished as their 
greatest benefactor." 

When this decision was pronounced by the venera- 
ble elder, the rage of the Prophet of the Alleghany 
became terrible. He started from the ground, seized 
his tomahawk, and, denouncing the vengeance of the 
Great Spirit upon the whole assembly, darted from 
the circle with wild impetuosity, and disappeared 
amongst the shadows of the forest. 



Tecumseh (the Shooting Star) was the son of 
Blackfish, and brother of the Prophet of the Alle- 
ghany. This noted warrior was first made known to 
the public as the leader of the Indians at the battle 



TECUMSEH. 



185 



of Tippecanoe,* (November, 1811.) He burst sud- 
denly into notice, but from that time, until his death, 
the attention of the American people was constantly 
turned towards him. He possessed all the courage, 
sagacity, and fortitude, for which the most distin- 
guished Indian chiefs have been celebrated; and more 
than this, he was always disinterested and true to his 
word. He was an orator as well as a soldier, and by 
the persuasive power of his eloquence formed one of 
the most powerful confederacies amongst the Indians. 
His watchful mind was ever on the alert, his enmity 
never slumbered, and he was a stranger to personal 
fatigue. He was of an independent spirit, remarkably 
graceful in his address and reserved in his manner. 
He held the commission of Brigadier-General under 
King George III. 




GENEEAL HARRISON. 



* A brancli of the Wabash, in Indiana. In 1811, the English, 
with the Indians who fought in the British service, were defeated by 
the United States' troops on the banks of this river. 

24 Q 2 



186 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



It is said that at the last conference which Ge-neral 
Harrison Leld at Vincennes, Indiana, with the In- 
dians, Tecumseh, at the end of a long and animated 
speech, found himself unprovided with a seat. Ob- 
serving the neglect, General Harrison ordered a chair 
to be placed for him, and requested him to accept it. 
" Your father," said the interpreter, " requests you to 




take a chair." " My father !" replied the proud chief; 
" the Sun is my father, and the Earth is my mother ; 



TECIJMSEH. 



187 



I will repose upon her bosom and, saying this, he 
sat himself on the ground, in the Indian manner. 

Such was Tecumseh, who fell towards the close of 
the battle of the Thames,* in a personal combat with 
Colonel Johnson of Kentucky. He was a Shawnee. 

Towards the close of the last century, Captain 
Thomas Brian of Kentucky was employed by the 
British government to survey certain lands in the 
central part of Ohio. Xot being so fortunate as to 
find game for several successive days, his provisions 
became scant, and at length were entirely exhausted. 
He directed his hunter to make another attempt to 
procure subsistence, and to meet him and his party 
at a particular spot ; at which, after the labours of 
the day were over, he j^roposed to encamp for the 
night. Towards evening the men became exhausted 
with hunger : they were in the midst of an uninhab- 
ited wilderness, and every circumstance conspired to 
cause the greatest dejection of spirits. After mak- 
ing painful exertions to reach the place appointed for 
their encampment, they had the mortification of learn- 
ing from the hunter that he had again been unsuc- 
cessful. He declared that he had made every possi- 
ble exertion, but all his attempts were of no avail, for 
the whole forest appeared to him entirely destitute 
both of birds and beasts ! At this moment starvation 
seemed to await them ; but Captain Brian, feeling his 
spirits roused by the thoughts of their desperate situ- 



TLe Thames is a river that falls into lake St. Clair, between 
lakes Huron and Erie. 



188 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ation, thrust his staff into the earth, and ordered his 
men to prepare their camp and make a good fire, 
whilst he took the gun of the unsuccessful hunter 
and went forth in pursuit of game. 

He had not left his party more than half an hour, 
when he was cheered by the sight of three deer, two 
of which he shot ; and before he returned to the camp 
he had the good fortune to kill a bear. He immedi- 
ately called for his men to assist him in carrying the 
game to the camp; and no one, except those who 
have been in a like situation, can conceive what the 
feelings are on such an occasion ! 

But miserable as the plight of the surveyor and his 
party had been, there were others not far off who 
were suffering still greater distress. Five Indians, 
who had been out on a hunting excursion, hearing 
the report of Captain Brian's gun, made immediately 
in that direction, and arrived at the camp at the same 
moment that he did. They soon explained their 
wretched situation, telling Brian that for the last two 
days their whole party had subsisted on one skunk ! 
They described the absence of game, in the language 
of the hunter, as if the whole forest was entirely 
destitute both of birds and beasts." 

Captain Brian told them that he had now plenty 
for them and his own party too, and kindly welcomed 
them to his fire. He bid them help his men in flay- 
ing the bear and deer, which were now brought into 
the camp, and then to cook, cut, and carve lor them- 
selves. Their looks were expressive of the joy they 
felt for so unexpected a deliverance ; nor did they 



TECUMSEH. 



189 



spare the provision. Their hunger was such that as 
soon as one round was served, another and another 
were quickly devoured. 

After all were satisfied, a fine, tall, and graceful 
young Indian stepped up to Captain Brian, (who was 
now reposing on account of great fatigue and severe 
rheumatism,) and informed him that the old man 
present was a chief ; that he felt very grateful to the 
Great and Good Spirit for so signal an interposition 
in their favour ; that he was about to make a prayer, 
and address the Great Spirit, and thank him : that it 
was the custom, on such occasions, for the Indians to 
stand up in their camp ; and that his chief requested 
the captain and his men to conform, in like manner, 
by standing up in iheir camp. Brian replied, that his 
men should all conform, and order should be pre- 
served ; but as for himself, he felt too ill to rise any 
more that night ; but he begged that this might not 
be considered out of any disrespect. 

The old chief then rose, as did all around him ; and 
lifting up his hands, commenced his prayer and thanks- 
giving with an audible voice. And a more beautiful 
address to the Deity, on such an occasion, surely never 
flowed from mortal lips ! The tone, the modulation 
of his voice, the gestures, all combined to make a 
deep impression on his hearers. In the course of his 
thanksgiving he recapitulated the fearful situation in 
which they so recently had been ; the horrors of star- 
vation with which they were threatened, the vain 
attempts they had made to procure food, until He, the 
Great, the Good Spirit, had sent the white man forth 



190 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and crowned his exertions with success, and so directed 
him and them to meet, and to find plenty. But who 
can describe the abundant overflowings of a grateful 
heart ? He continued in this strain for about half an 
hour ; when Brian's men, reflecting on their own re- 
cent situation, and beholding the pious gratitude of 
this child of the forest," felt the same sensations, and 
were melted into tenderness — if not into tears. 

The young Indian who so gracefully addressed Cap- 
tain Brian in behalf of his chief was Tecumseh. 



Several years ago, a Scotchman and his wife, 
named M^Dougal, emigrated to America. Having 
but very little money, he purchased land where it 
was then sold for almost nothing, in a country thinly 
peopled, and on the extreme verge of civilization. 

His first care was to construct a house and clear 
away some of the trees round it. This done, he spent 
his whole time, early and late, in making a garden 
and cultivating a few fields. By unwearied industry, 
and with the occasional help of older settlers, he by 
degrees acquired a stock of cattle, sheep, and pigs, 
and was, in a rough way, possessed of a comforta- 
ble independence. 

His greatest discomforts were, distance from his 
neighbours, the church, market, and even the mill ; 
but, above all, the complete separation from his 



M'DOUCrlL AND THE INDIAN. 



191 



frieDds ; and this he would have felt still more had 
he been an idle man. 

One day farmer M^Dougal, having a quantity of 
corn to grind, knowing that the distance was consi- 
derable and the road none of the smoothest, set out 
in the morning at sunrise, hoping he should reach 
home as'ain before dark. 

When the farmer was at home he always drove up 
the cows for his wife to milk, morning and evening ; 
but now this care devolved on her, and the careful 
woman went out in quest of them. Not accustomed 
to go far from the house, she soon found herself in an 
unknown country, and, with neither pocket compass 
nor notched trees to guide, it is not to be wondered 
that she wandered long and wearily to very little 
purpose. Tall trees seemed to encompass her on 
every side, or where the view was more open, she 
beheld the distant blue hills rising one behind an- 
other; but no ^-illage spire or cottage chimney was 
there to cheer her on her way, and fatigued with the 
search, and despairing of finding the cattle, she re- 
solved, while it was yet light, to retrace her steps 
homeward. 

But this resolution was more easily formed than 
executed ; she became completely bewildered ; she 
knew not in which direction to turn, and at length, 
with tears in her eyes, and her mind agitated almost 
to distraction, she sunk on the ground. But she had 
not rested there many minutes before she was startled 
by the sound of approaching footsteps, and, on look- 
ing up, she beheld before her an Indian hunter. 



192 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Although Mrs. M^Dougal knew that there were In- 
dians Ihing in the neighbourhoodj she had never yet 
seen one, and her terror was very great. The Indian, 
however, knew her ; he had seen her before, he knew 
where she lived, and he instantly guessed the cause 
of her distress. He could speak but a few words of 
Enghsh ; but he made signs for her to follow him. 
She did so, and, after a few minutes' walk, they ar- 
rived at the door of an Indian wigwam. He invited 
her to enter, but not being able to persuade her to do 
so, he darted into the wigwam, and spoke a few words 
to his wife, who instantly appeared, and by the kind- 
ness of her manner induced the stranger to enter 
their humble abode. Yenison was prepared for sup- 
per, and Mrs. M^Dougal, though still alarmed at the 
novelty of her situation, could not refuse to partake 
of the savoury meal. 

-Seeing that their guest was weary, the Indians re- 
moved from their place near the roof two beautiful 
deer skins, and, by stretching and fixing them across, 
divided the wigwam into two apartments. Mats 
were then spread in both, and the stranger was made 
to understand that one division was for her accommo- 
dation. But here aeain her coura2:e failed her, and 
to the most pressing entreaties she replied that she 
would sit and sleep by the fire. This determination 
seemed to puzzle the Indian and his squaw sadly. 
They looked at one another, and conversed softly in 
their own language ; and at length, the squaw taking 
her guest by the hand, led her to her couch and be- 
came her bedfellow. 



M^DOTJGAL AND THE INDIANS. 



193 



In tlie morning she awoke, greatly refreshed, and 
anxious to depart without further delay ; but this her 
new friends would not permit, until she had eaten of 
their corn cakes and venison. Then the Indian ac- 
companied his guest, and soon conducted her to the 
spot where the cattle were grazing. These he drove 
from the wood, on the edge of which Mrs. M^Dougal 
descried her husband, who was equally delighted at 
seeing her, as her absence from home all night had 
caused him great uneasiness. They invited their In- 
dian benefactor to their house, and, on his departure, 
presented him with a suit of clothes. 

Three days after he returned, and endeavoured, 
partly by signs, and partly in broken English, to in- ' 
duce flirmer M'Dougal to follow him into the forest ; 
but he refused. Time was precious to him, who had 
to work hard for every thing he possessed, and the 
Indian repeated his entreaties in vain. The poor 
fellow looked grieved and disappointed; but a mo- 
ment after, a sudden thought struck him. He hit on 
an expedient which none but an Indian hunter would 
have "thought of 

Mrs. M'Dougal had a young child, which the In- 
dian's quick eye had not failed to notice ; and, find- 
ing that his eloquence was completely thrown away 
rv^^ upon the parents, he approached the cradle, seized 
^ihe child, and darted out of the house with the speed 
of an antelope. The father and mother instantly fol- 
lowed, loudly calling on him to return ; but he had 
no such intention. He led them on, now slower, now 

25 R 



194 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



faster, and occasionally turning towards them, laugh- 
ing, and holding up the child to their view. 

It is needless to go into all the details of this sin- 
gular journey, further than to say that the Indian, 
instead of enticing them to his own wigwam, as they 
expected, halted at length on the margin of a most 
beautiful prairie, covered with the richest vegetation, 
and extending over several thousand acres. In a 
moment the child was restored to its parents, who, 
wondering what so strange a proceeding could mean, 
stood awhile panting for breath, and looking at one 
another with silent astonishment. 

The Indian, on the other hand, seemed overjoyed 
* at the success of his manoeuvre, and never did a hu- 
man being frisk about and gesticulate with greater 
animation. We have heard of a professor of signs, 
and, if such a person were wanted, the selection would 
not be a matter of difficulty, so long as any remnant 
exists of the aborigines of North America. All tra- 
vellers agree in describing their gestures as highly 
dignified, and their countenances intelligent ; and we 
have Mr. M'Dougal's authority for stating that the 
hero of this tale proved himself a perfect master of 
the art of eloquence. His broken English was nearly 
in these words : 

" You think Indian treacherous ; you think him 
wish steal the child. No, no; Indian has child off 
his own. Indian knew you long ago ; saw you when 
you not see him ; saw you hard working man. Some 
white men bad, and hurt poor Indian. You not bad; 
you work hard for your wife and child ; but you 




Indian carrying off Mr. McDougal's Child. 



M^DOUGAL AND THE INDIAN. 197 

choose bad place ; you never make rich there. In- 
dian see your cattle far in forest ; think you come 
and catch them; you not come; your wife come. 
Indian find her faint and weary; take her home; 
wife fear go in ; think Indian kill her ! No, no ; In- 
dian lead her back ; meet you very sad ; then very 
glad to see her. You kind to Indian ; give him meat 
and drink, and better clothes than your own. Indian 
grateful ; wish you come here ; not come ; Indian 
very sorry; take the child; know you follow child. 
K Indian farm, Indian farm here. Good ground; 
not many trees ; make road in less than half a moon; 
Indians help you. Indians your friends ; come, live 
here." 

M^Dougal immediately saw the advantage that 
such a change would be to him, and, taking the In- 
dian's advice, the day was soon fixed for the removal 
of his log-house, along with the rest of his goods and 
chattels ; and the Indian, true to his word, brought a 
party of his red brethren to assist in one of the most 
romantic removals that ever took place, either in the 
Old World or the New. 

In a few days a roomy log-house was raised, and a 
garden marked out in the most fertile and beautiful 
part of the prairie. The Indians continued friendly 
and faithful, and the good understanding between 
them and the white settlers was a source of great 
comfort to both parties. 



198 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



In old times, whenever war commenced between 
the English and French in Europe, their colonies in 
America were involved in its calamities, to an un- 
known and fearful extent ; and wars were constantly 
going on in America in which the Indians fought 
sometimes on the side of the English against the 
French, and sometimes with the French against the 
English. Some chiefs and tribes were noted for being 
the firm and faithful friends of the white men, and 
others were known as their implacable foes. Jii the 
month of May, 1725, a memorable battle was fought 
between the English colonists commanded by Captain 
Lovewell, and the Pequakets, a tribe of Indians who 
then inhabited the State of New Hampshire. Amongst 
Lovewell's men, was a New Hampshire settler, named 
John Chamberlain. He was one of those rugged 
spirits who at that time moved from the thickly set- 
tled country near the coast, and penetrated into the 
wilderness. On his scouting expeditions to surprise 
the frontier settlers, the Lidian passed his rude log- 
house, buried amongst trees and mountains. Around 
it were the haunts of the wild beasts of the forest. 
The smoky rafters of his hut were hung with gam- 
mons of the bear that had tumbled from the white 
pine at the sound of his unerring rifle ; and at night 
he lay on the soft fur of the dun catamount. 

He was tall — tall as the stateliest Indian. Strong ? 
Two of them were hardly a match for him with their 



PAUGUS AND CHAMBERLAIN. 



199 



tomaliawks against his heavy hatchet. Was he swift 
of foot ? He could outrun the moose in full trot. 
Sagacious and eagle-eyed, he entrapped the Indian in 
his ambush, and surpassed him in that instinct which 
guides alike the savage and the wild beast through 
the wide and pathless forest. 

The red men passed cautiously by the dwelling of 
John Chamberlain. As they watched in ambush for 
game, they would lie still and suffer him to go on un- 
molested, even if there were half a score of them ; for 
they feared lest their rifles should miss what they 
deemed his charmed body, and bring down his ven- 
geance upon them. 

There is a beautiful lake in New Hampshire which 
is still called by the Indian name, Winnipisiogee. It 
is twenty-eight miles long and ten wide ; the country 
around is hilly, and clothed with thick woods. On 
the shores of this lake there dwelt a powerful tribe 
of Indians called Pequakets. Paugus was their chief. 
He was a savage of great strength and stature : swift, 
cunning, and deadly with his rifle and his tomahawk ; 
cruel and vengeful beyond the wonted vengeance of 
savages ; the terror of man, woman, and child along 
the frontiers, and even of the towns that were further 
removed from the scenes of his violence. 

Parties of armed men had penetrated through the 
woods to the shores of the Winnipisiogee, to discover 
the retreat of this terrible savage, and, if possible, 
to take him prisoner. But he was too sagacious, and 
always eluded their search. Once, indeed, when they 
had set his wigwam on fire, he was hidden so near 



200 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the spot that he felt the heat of the flames, and saw 
the smoke curling over the tops of the trees under 
which he lay concealed. 

In the skirmishes with the Indians, in which Cham- 
berlain was often engaged, he had constantly endea- 
voured to single out Paugus as the foe most worthy 
of his rifle ; nor was Paugus less willing to encounter 
the far-famed settler ; but they had never chanced to 
meet. The time, however, was now at hand, when 
one of these mighty men must yield to the superior 
power or craft of his rival. The colonists, under Cap- 
tain Lovewell, had marched out with the expectation 
of meeting Paugus and his men. They had already 
penetrated the woods to a considerable distance, and 
arrived at the place where they expected to find In- 
dians. Early on the morning of the 7th of May, 
whilst at prayers, they heard a gun, and, starting up, 
they immediately prepared for an encounter ; but no 
Indians were in sight, except a hunter, whom Ensign 
Wyman discovered carrying two black ducks in one 
hand and a gun in the other. There can be no pro- 
bability that he thought of meeting an enemy; but 
no sooner was he seen by the colonists, than several 
guns were fired at him, but missed him. Seeing that 
certain death was his lot, the Indian resolved to de- 
fend himself as long as he could. He levelled his 
gun at his assailants, and Captain Lovewell was mor- 
tally wounded, whilst, almost at the same moment. 
Ensign Wyman, taking deliberate aim, killed the 
poor hunter. 

The remainder of this day passed without further 



PAUGUS AND CHAMBERLAIN. 



201 



adventure, though the colonists were in constant ap- 
prehension of falling into some snare prepared by the 
wily Paugus. On the morning of the Sth, Mr. Frye, 
the chaplain, having assembled the men as usual be- 
fore they resumed their day's march, commenced his 
prayer with these words : " We came out to meet the 
enemy; we have all along prayed God that we might 
find them ; we had rather give up our lives to Provi- 
dence, yea, and die for our country, than return home 
without seeing them, and be called cowards for our 
pains." The chaplain did not pray in vain ; for about 
noon the colonial troops encountered an almost over- 
whelming body of Indians, who rose from their co- 
verts and nearly encircled them, but seemed loath to 
begin the -fight; for they were, no doubt, in hopes 
that the colonists, seeing their numbers, would yield 
without a battle. They, therefore, made towards 
them with their guns presented. They then held up 
ropes which they had provided for securing their cap- 
tives, and asked them if they would have quarter. 
This only encouraged the colonists, who answered, 
only at the muzzles of our guns and they rushed 
towards the Indians, firing as they pressed on, and, 
killing many, drove them back several rods. But 
they soon rallied and fired vigorously in their turn, 
and obliged the colonists to retreat, leaving several 
dead and others badly wounded. Lovewell, though 
mortally wounded the preceding day, had led his men 
until this time, but now fell to rise no more. 

The fight continued very furious and obstinate till 
towards night, the Indians roaring and howling like 

26 



202 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



wolves, barking like dogs, and making all sorts of 
hideous noises, as is their custom whilst engaged in 
battle: but before night they were completely de- 
feated, whilst the loss of the colonists was very great, 
and, among others, the worthy chaplain, Jonathan 
Frye, was slain. 

After the thickest and most desperate of the con- 
flict was over. Chamberlain, weary with fighting, 
thirsty and faint with heat, retired to the edge of a 
lake (since known by the name of Lovewell's pond) to 
drink and to wash out his gun, which had grown so 
foul with frequent firing that at last he could not 
make it go off. He pushed his way through a copse 
of willows to a little beach by the pond, when, lo ! 
from the thicket, at a short distance from him, ap- 
peared the stately figure of Paugus, covered with dust 
and blood, and making his way likewise to the water. 

The warriors knew each other at a glance. Cham- 
berlain's gun was useless, and he thought of rushing 
upon Paugus with his hatchet before he could level 
his rifle; but the Indian's gun was in the same con- 
dition with his own, and he, too, had come to the 
edge of the pond to quench his thirst, and hastily 
scour out his foul rifle. The condition of the rifles 
was instantly seen by the enemies, and they agreed 
to a truce while they washed them out for the en- 
counter. Slowly and with equal movements they 
cleaned their guns, and took their stations on the 
beach. " Now, Paugus," cried Chamberlain, " I'll 
have you ;" and, with the quickness and steadiness 
of an old hunter, he loaded his rifle. ^* Na, na, me 



PAUGUS AND CHAMBERLAIN. 



205 



have you," replied Paugus ; and he handled his gun 
with a dexterity that made the bold heart of Cham- 
berlain beat faster, whilst he involuntarily raised his 
eyes to take a last look of the sun. They rammed 
their cartridges, and each at the same instant cast 
his ramrod upon the sand. " I'll have you, Paugus," 
shouted Chamberlain again, as in his desperation he 
almost resolved to fall upon the savage with the butt 
end of his rifle, lest he should receive his. bullets be- 
fore he could load. Paugus trembled as he applied 
his powder horn to the priming. Chamberlain's 
quick ear heard the grains of his powder rattle lightly 
on the leaves which lay at his feet. Chamberlain 
struck his gun-breech violently upon the ground — the 
ri^e primed itself I he aimed, and the bullets whistled 
through the heart of Paugus. He fell — and, as he 
went down, the bullet from the muzzle of his ascend- 
ing rifle whizzed through Chamberlain's hair, and 
passed off, without avenging the death of its master, 
into the bordering wilderness. 

The hunter, after he recovered the shock of this 
sudden and fearful encounter, cast a look upon the 
fallen savage. The paleness of death had come over 
his copper-coloured forehead. He seized the rifle, the 
bullet pouch, and powder horn, and, leaving him on 
the sand, sought again the lessened ranks of the 
white men, as they wearily defended themselves 
against the savages. He shouted to them of the fall 
of Paugus. The Indians looked around them ; the 
tall figure of their chief was nowhere to be seen. 

In grief and despair they ceased their fire, and fell 

s 



206 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



back into the woods, leaving Wyman, with Chamber- 
lain, and the small remains of the band of white 
men, to retrace their way to the distant settlement. 

The spot on which this fight took place was fifty 
miles from any white inhabitants, and it was almost 
miraculous that any should have escaped death at the 
hands of Paugus and his courageous warriors. Those 
who survived did not leave the battle-ground till near 
midnight, and only fourteen lived to return to their 
friends. One man, named Solomon Keyes, having 
received three wounds, said he would hide himself, 
and die in a secret place, where the Indians could not 
find him to get his scalp. As he crawled upon the 
shore of Lovewell's pond, at some distance from the 
scene of action, he found a canoe, into which he rolled 
himself, and was drifted away by the wind. To his 
great joy and astonishment, he was cast ashore at no 
great distance from the fort at which "Wyman's men 
shortly after arrived, and, gaining strength, was soon 
able to return home. 

Fifty men from New Hampshire were immediately 
ordered to march to the scene of action, where they 
found and buried the dead. They found the bodies 
of only three Indians ; the rest had undoubtedly been 
taken away by their comrades. 

Thus terminated the expedition against the Pe- 
quakets; and, although the whites could scarcely 
claim the victory, yet the northern Indians received 
a blow from which they hardly recovered. Several 
songs were written upon the subject ; but it must be 
confessed that they were much more circumstantial 



INDIAN CHILDREN. 



209 



than poetical, and it can hardly be expected that any- 
cultivated reader should take sufficient interest in the 
subject to make him wish for even a specimen. 



Indian @f:'ii^nn. 

The Indians have been frequently represented as 
ilmost devoid of natural affection, or indeed of feel- 
ing altogether ; but this is a mistake, which probably 
arises from the great command over their feelings 
which they are in the habit of exercising, particularly 
when in the presence of strangers. Those persons 
who have had the best opportunities of knowing the 
real character of the Indians have remarked, amongst 
many other good traits, the great affection that they 
have for their children, and the respect which young 
people pay, not only to their own parents, but to all 
elderly people. 

Before they can run alone, th 3 little papoose is con- 
fined in a cradle which is carried on the mother's 
back while she is at her work, or set upright against 
the wall. 

The children, both boys and girls, appear to be 
particularly under the care of their mother: she 
teaches them how to make leggins, moccasins, and 
many other things that have already been described ; 
and if she be a good mother, as many of these poor 
squaws are, she is particular in keeping her daughters 
continually employed, so that they may have the re- 

27 s2 



210 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



putation of being industrious girls, which is a recom- 
mendation to the young men to marry them. 

Corporal punishment is very seldom resorted to for 
the correction of children ; but if they commit any 
fault, it is common for the mother to blacken their 
faces and send them out of the lodge : when this is 
done, they are not allowed to eat till it is washed off^ 
and sometimes they are kept a whole day in this 
situation, as a punishment for their misconduct. 

There is a considerable difference in the manners 
and characters of different tribes, some being brave, 
honourable, and generous, while others are noted for 
their treacherous disposition and filthy habits. In 
many tribes their families appear to be well regulated, 
and great pains are taken by the chiefs and principal 
men to impress upon the minds of the younger part 
of their respective nations what they conceive to be 
their duty. 

When the boys are six or seven years of age, a 
small bow and arrows are put into their hands, and 
they are sent out to shoot birds around the lodge or 
village : this they continue to do five or six years, 
and then their father procures for them short guns, 
and they begin to hunt ducks, geese, and small game. 
In the winter evenings their father mil relate to them 
the manner of approaching a deer, elk, or buffalo, and 
describe the manner of setting traps for different ani- 
mals : when he is able, he will take them a hunting 
with him, and show them the tracks of wild beasts. 
To all these instructions the boys pay the most earn- 
est attention. 



INDIAN CHILDREN. 



211 



The Indians generally appear to be more afflicted 
at the loss of aa infant, or young child, than of a 
person who has arrived at mature years ; the latter, 
they think, can provide for himself in the country 
whither he has gone, but the former is too young to 
provide for himself. 

The men appear ashamed to show any signs of grief 
at the loss of any relation, however dear he might 
have been to them ; but the women do not attempt to 
conceal their feelings ; and on the loss of either hus- 
band or child, they cut off their hair, disfigure their 
faces and limbs with black paint, and even with cuts, 
and burn all their clothes excepting a few miserable 
rags. 

A striking display of the strong affection that an 
Indian feels for his child occurred some years since in 
a town in Maine. One of the Kennebec tribe, re- 
markable for his good conduct, had received a grant 
of land from the State, and settled himself in a part 
of the country where several famiUes were already 
settled. Though by no means ill-treated, yet the 
common prejudice against Indians prevented any 
sympathy with him ; and he felt this keenly, when, 
at the death of his only child, none of his neighbours 
came near him to attend the funeral. 

A few months afterwards he announced his inten- 
tion of leaving the village ; he called on some of the 
inhabitants, and expressed himself in the following 
manner : — ^* When white man's child die," said he, 
" Indian man be sorry ; he help bury him. When 
my child die, no one speak to me — I make his grave 



212 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



alone — I can no live here." He gave up his farm* 
dug up the lody of his child, and carried it with him 
two hundred miles, through the forest, to join the 
Canadian Indians. 

Not long after the first English settlers had estab- 
lished themselves in Pennsylvania, during the winter 
a white man's child strayed away from his parent's 
house ; and after having in vain been sought in every 
direction by the parents for a whole day and night, 
the father resolved to apply for assistance to one of 
his Indian neighbours, with whom he had always 
lived on friendly terms. He knew the superior facility 
with which the Indians, who are in the habit of con- 
stantly roaming the woods, can detect and distinguish 
objects of sight and sound. 

Osamee, for that was the name of the friendly In- 
dian, immediately went to the house of the parents, 
and looking attentively round it, soon discovered the 
little footsteps of a child and the direction which they 
had taken; and although the child's father could 
hardly discover the marks and signs by which he was 
guided, he followed the track with as much apparent 
ease and confidence as a civilized traveller would a 
turnpike road, and after tracing it for about three 
miles into the forest, he found the poor child lying 
under a tree, crying bitterly, and almost perishing 
with cold. 

This little incident was the means of reconcihng 
some of the white people to the near settlement of 
the Indians, of whom they had been in dread ; but 
they now rather rejoiced in having such good neigh- 



WA-NOU AND THE ENGLISH OFFICER. 215 



bours ; and it would have been well for both parties 
if the good feelings shown by the Indians to the first 
settlers in some hundreds of instances had met with 
such a return as men calling themselves Christians 
were bound to make ; but, alas ! it was far otherwise. 



An anecdote which has been preserved, concerning 
an old Mohegan Indian named Wanou, affords a strik- 
ing example of the strong affection of a father towards 
his only son. 

During the frequent wars which took place between 
the Indians and the white men, the former had de- 
feated a party of English soldiers, and put them to 
flight. The retreat being without order, a young 
English officer, in attempting to escape, was pursued 
by two of the savages, and finding an escape imprac- 
ticable, he determined to sell his Hfe as dearly as possi- 
ble. He turned round to face his enemies, and a vio- 
lent conflict commenced, in which he must have soon 
fallen ; but just as one of his assailants was about to 
raise the fatal tomahawk over his head, an old Indian 
threw himself between the combatants, and the red 
men instantly retired with respect. 

The old man took the young officer by the hand, 
dispelled his fears, and led him through the forest to 
his wigwam, where he treated him with the greatest 
kindness. He seemed to take pleasure in the youth's 



216 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



company ; he was his constant companion ; he taught 
him his language, and made the rude arts of his 
countrymen familiar to him. They lived happily 
together, though the thoughts of home would occar 
sionally disturb the Englishman's tranquillity, and for 
a while his countenance appeared sorrowful. At these 
times Wa-nou would survey his young friend atten- 
tively, and while he fixed his eyes upon him, the 
tears would start into them. 

On the return of spring, hostilities were recom- 
menced, and every warrior appeared in arms. War 
nou, whose strength was still sufficient to support the 
toils of war, set out with the rest, accompanied by 
his prisoner. The Indians having marched above 
two hundred miles, at length arrived within sight of 
the English camp. Wa-nou observed the young man's 
countenance whilst he showed him the camp of his 
countrymen. " There are thy brethren," said he, 
" waiting to fight us. Listen to me. I have saved 
thy life. I have taught thee to make a canoe, a bow 
and arrows ; to hunt the bear and the buffalo ; to 
bring down the deer at full speed, and to outwit even 
the cunning fox. What wast thou when I first led 
thee to my wigwam ? Thy hands were like those of 
a child ; they served neither to support nor to defend 
thee; thou wert ignorant, but from me thou hast 
learnt every thing. Will thou be ungrateful, and 
raise up thine arm against the red men ?" 

The young Englishman declared with much warmth, 
that he would rather lose his own life than shed the 
blood of one of his Indian friends. The old warrior 



WA-NOU AND THE ENGLISH OFFICER. 217 



seemed to be overcome by some painful recollection ; 
he covered his face with his hands, bowed down his 
head, and remained in that posture for some time ; 
then making as it were a strong effort, he again looked 
at the young man, and said to him in a tone mixed 
with tenderness and grief, Hast thou a father ?" 

" He was living," said the young man, " when I 
left my country." 

" Oh, how fortunate he is still to have a son !" cried 
the Indian; and then, after a minute's silence, he 
added, " Knowest thou that I have been a father, 
but I am no longer so ? I saw my son fall in battle ; 
he fought bravely by my side ; my son fell covered 
with wounds, and he died like a man ! but I revenged 
his death ; yes, I revenged it." 

Wa-nou pronounced these words with great vehe- 
mence ; his whole frame seemed agitated ; his eyes 
lost their usual serenity, and his chest heaved with 
deep sighs. By degrees he became more calm, and, 
turning towards the east where the sun had just risen, 
he said, — 

" Young man, thou seest that glorious light — does 
it afford thee any pleasure to behold it?" 

" Yes," replied the Englishman, " I never look upon 
the rising sun without pleasure, or without feeling 
thankful to our great Father who created it." 

" I am glad that thou art happy, but there is no 
more pleasure for me," said Wa-nou. A moment 
after, he showed the young man a shrub that was in 
full bloom. 

28 T 



218 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



" Seest thou that beautiful plant ?" said he. " Hast 
thou any pleasure in beholding it ?" 

" Yes, great pleasure/' replied the young man. 

" To me. it can no longer give pleasure," said the 
old man : and then, after embracing the young Eng- 
lishman with great affection, he concluded with these 
words : " Begone, hasten to thine own country/, that thj 
father may still have pleasure in heholding the rising sun 
and the floivers of spring T 



Hanna's Town, in Westmoreland county, is famous, 
in the early records of Pennsylvania, as the first 
place west of the Alleghanies where justice was dis 
pensed according to the legal forms of the white man. 
The dignity of this venerable settlement may be con- 
ceived from the fact, that the court was established 
there coeval with the formation of the county, as 
well as from the no less authentic fact, that its thirty 
log cabins were then dignified by the title of houses. 
The court-house and jail were of the same frail ma- 
terial as the houses, as was likewise the fort. Here, 
amid difiiculties in the pursuit of knowledge, of which 
modern barristers have little idea, much less expe- 
rience, the legal gentlemen of that day struggled on 
to fame and affluence, and in a manner, too, which 
astonished the good people of that early county town. 
The first presiding justice was Kobert Hanna, and 



BURNING OF HANNA's TOWN. 219 

Thomas Smith, afterwards a judge in the supreme 
court, was an occasional resident. The road which had 
been opened by General Forbes, while marching to 
Fort Pitt, passed through the town. The periodical 
return of the court brought together a hardy, adven- 
turous, frank, and open hearted set of men from the 
Red stone, the George creek, the Yough'ogheny, the 
Monongahela, the " Catfish settlements," and from 
the region known as Old Westmoreland. On these 
occasions there was many a scene of joyous merri- 
ment ; for such men, in such times, when they did 
meet, met joyously. But this bright scene was des- 
tined to be clouded and destroyed by the terrible 
scenes of one stormy day. 

On the 13th of July, 1782, a party of the inha- 
bitants were harvesting in the field of one O'Connor, 
about a mile and a half north of the village. That 
summer had been one of constant terror and distress, 
owing to the successful incursions of Indians upon 
the neighbouring frontier. Several families of Han- 
na's Town had abandoned their homes, and, with 
some from the adjoining settlements, had repaired to 
Miller's station, two miles to the south. While the 
reaping party were busily engaged, one of them, who 
had been near the woods, returned in great alarm, 
and reported that a number of Indians were ap- 
proaching. Each threw down his sickle and ran for 
the town. Their arrival caused a scene of conster- 
nation and uproar. Many rushed toward the fort; 
some ran up and down seeking their wdves or chil- 
dren ; others assisted the aged. The jail door was 



220 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



flung open ; men, women, and children stumbled and 
fell over each other in the eager race to gain a place 
of safety. Uncertainty as to the number and de- 
signs of the Indians, increased the apprehensions of 
them; and it was not until the entire population 
were involved in a state of inextricable confusion, 
that a few conceived the fortunate idea of sending 
out spies to ascertain something certain. Accordingly 
four young men, armed with rifles, set out on foot for 
O'Connor's field, by way of the Highlands ; while 

Captain J , who was accidentally in the town, 

pursued a more circuitous route on horseback. The 
captain, arriving first, found himself very unexpect- 
edly before a large body of Indians, painted and 
armed in genuine savage style, and evidently bent 
upon the destruction of Hanna. He turned and fled. 
Meeting the four young men, he ordered them to fly, 
and then pushed on to aid the inhabitants in their 
retreat. David Shaw, one of the party on foot, and 
his three companions, were hotly pursued, but took 
refuge in a ravine which led from Crab-tree creek. 
The Indians, not aware that the town had been 
alarmed, refrained from firing, a circumstance to 
which the four young men owed the preservation of 
their lives. Shaw, on entering the town, found every 
thing desolate; but, on turning round, beheld the 
Indians with their tufts of hair flying in the wind, 
and their tomahawks brandished aloft in air. As 
they uttered the war-whoop, Shaw, with a courage 
bordering on rashness, levelled his rifle, took delibe- 
rate aim, and shot one of their number dead. He 



BURNING OF HANNa's TOWN. 221 

then rushed toward the fort, which he reached in 
safety. The Indians entered the town, and, exaspe- 
rated at finding it deserted, fired the buildings. One 
of them dressed himself in a large coat, and paraded 
before the fort. He was shot down ; but the garrison^ 
fearful probably of an assault, did not venture to fire 
upon the main body. A young lady, named Jennet 
Shaw, was killed in the fort under circumstances pe- 
culiarly affecting. A child having run opposite the 
gate which contained apertures that occasionally ad- 
mitted a ball, she followed it, and was instantly shoi 
in the bosom. 

Meanwhile, a party of the Indians had marched 
toward Miller's station. At that place a wedding 
had been held the day before, and a number of the 
surrounding settlers had collected at the bride's house. 
Among them was John Brownlee, renowned in the 
annals of frontier forage and scouting expeditions, 
and endeared to all by his courage, activity, and gene- 
rosity. The Indians were acquainted with his charac- 
ter, and some of them had probably seen him before. 
When the savages approached, the bridal party were 
enjoying themselves in the principal mansion. Some 
men were mowing in a meadow, and the remaining 
inhabitants were occupied in their various pursuits. 
Sudden as a clap of thunder, the war-whoop broke 
over the settlement. Those in the meadow, and 
most of the others, made their escape. One man was 
carrying his child and assisting his mother. When 
they arrived at the top of a neighbouring hill, she 
exclaimed that the Indians were gaining upon them, 

t2 



222 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and they would be murdered. The man put down 
his child, that he might more effectually assist his 
mother. He esca^oed, and Providence seemed to 
smile on his deed, for next morning, on returning to 
his cabin, he found the little one asleep in its bed — 
the only human thing left living amid the desolation. 
Probably the child had wandered back to the house, 
unobserved by the Indians, and laid itself on the 
well-known couch. At the principal mansion, the 
party were so agitated by the cries of women and 
children mingling with the savage war-whoop, that they 
remained a moment irresolute. Then one young man, 
of powerful frame, grasped a child of Brownlee's and 
rushed toward the fields. He was pursued by three 
or four savages ; but gained upon them so much, 
that, on coming to a rye-field, he was able to take 
advantage of a thick copse to hide momentarily from 
his pursuers. Then, mounting the fence, he leaped 
far out into the rye and lay down. He heard the 
infuriated yells as the savages rushed by, and their 
low growls of disappointment when returning. He 
afterwards lived to a great age. Brownlee seized a 
rifle and rushed toward the door ; but, while in the 
act of engaging with some Indians, he heard his wife 
exclaiming, "Jack, you won't leave me." He returned 
and sat down calmly by her. The whole party, in- 
cluding the bridegroom and bride, were made prison- 
ers. While they were being carried away. Captain 
J was seen dashing toward the village on horse- 
back. So eager was he to warn the settlement, that 
he did not notice the position of affairs until he was 



BURNING OF HANNa's TOWN. 225 

within gun-shot. The Indians, certain of their prey, 
raised their pieces. He turned and fled, escaping a 
shower of balls, and reached the fort in safety. 

The Indians now began their retreat. After pro- 
ceeding about half a mile, the prisoners observed that 
four or five of those around Brownlee interchanged 
rapid sentences and looked frequently toward him. 
A little while after he stooped slightly to adjust the 
child on his back. A chief instantly tomahawked 
him. The child shared his fate. One of the women 
screamed at the sight, and the same bloody weapon, 
wielded by the same hand, clave her skull. Mrs. Brown- 
lee looked on, in speechless horror. On the approach 
of evening, the marauders halted at Hanna's Town, 
regaled themselves on what they had stolen, and 
awaited the return of day to attack the fort. The 
fort was saved by a stratagem. At sunset, thirty 
sturdy backwoodsmen had assembled at George's 
farm, not far from Miller's, for the purpose of succour- 
ing the fort. Soon after dark they set out for the 
fort, some on horseback, and the remainder on foot, 
each armed with his well-loaded rifle. They ap- 
proached the fort with proper circumspection ; but, 
finding that the enemy were in the crab-tree bottom, 
they marched to the gate. The joy of the garrison 
at this unexpected succour may be imagined. After 
much consultation, they arrived at the opinion that 
the Indians would most probably attack the fort on 
the following morning. The garrison numbered fifty- 
five or sixty men, with forty-five rifles. The Indians 
were more than three hundred. In order to hide 

29 



226 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



this disparity of numbers from the enemy, the horses 
were mounted by active men, and brought full trot ' 
over the bridge, which crossed the ditch surrounding 
the stockade. This was frequently repeated ; and, at 
the same time, two old drums were newly braced, 
and, in company with a fife, were made to keep up 
music at intervals during the night. While march- 
ing and countermarching, the bridge was frequently 
crossed on foot by the whole garrison. These mea- 
sures had the desired effect. The military music 
from the fort, and the trampling of men and horses, 
were borne, in the silence of night, over the low lands 
of the crab-tree, and struck terror into the bosoms 
of the savages. They fled with their prisoners about 
midnight, and on the following day were pursued to 
some distance. 

On arriving in Canada, the Indians surrendered 
their prisoners to the British, where one of them, a 
young lady of much personal beauty, was subse- 
quently married to an English officer. After the 
peace of 1783, the rest were released, and returned 
to Pennsylvania. 



THE LOST SISTER OF WYOMING. 227 



I 




Numerous instances are on record of Indians 
abandoning their wigwam, throwing off their habits and 
their religion, and becoming creditable members of 
civilized society. Examples of the opposite change 
are rare ; yet some few have occurred. But it has 
oftener happened, that white children, when captured 
and brought up by the Indians, have forgotten early 
associations, or if too young to forget, have often dis- 
regarded the difference of colour, and become real In- 
dians. Experience in these cases seems to prove that 
the adopted savage is harder to win back to civiliza- 
tion than are his dusky brethren ; and if this be es- 
tablished, the comparative influence of natural and 
artificial society over the affections and happiness of 
man might form a very nice question for the philo- 



228 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



sophical inquirer. Whether the investigation would 
tend to disturb the complacency with which we regard 
our own superiority in this respect, must be left to 
the judgment of every reader. 

In 1778, the family of Mr. Jonathan Slocum, near 
"Wilkesbarre, (Campbell's "Wyoming,) Pennsylvania, 
was attacked by Indians. Within were two girls 
aged nine and five years, a son of thirteen, a little boy 
of two and a half, and their mother. The men were 
working in the field, and two youths were in the 
porch, grinding a knife. One of these was shot and 
scalped with his own knife. The eldest sister seized 
the little boy and ran with him toward the fort. The 
Indians displayed unwonted humanity, chasing the 
girl merely to frighten her and enjoy the sight of her 
running. They then took the boy who had been 
turning the grindstone^ young Slocum, and his sister 
Frances, and prepared to depart. Little Slocum was 
lame, and the Indians, instead of murdering him, set 
him down and departed. One of the party slung the 
little girl over his shoulder ; and its face covered with 
tears, and half hidden by long curling hair, was the 
last object which met the mother's gaze. 

Nothing was heard of the Indians or their captives 
for more than a month; but they then returned, 
murdered the aged grandfather, and shot a ball into 
the leg of the lame boy, which he carried to his grave. 
They again plunged into the woods, and came no 
more. Years passed away, and nothing was heard of 
the little girl and her fellow-captive. When the 
mother had died, and the remaining brothers grown 



THE LOST SISTER OF WYOMING. 229 

to manhood, they resolved to ascertain, if possible, the 
fate of their sister. They made every inquiry, wrote 
letters to different tribes and agents, and travelled 
through the west and into the Canadas. All was 
vain ; and for fifty-eight years the deep forests, true to 
their savage inhabitants, buried amid their solitudes 
the little captive's fate. 

All this time Frances was living. She was intro- 
duced to the knowledge of civilized society by a cir- 
cumstance purely accidental. The Honourable G. 
W. Ewing, United States agent to Indiana territory, 
while travelling on the banks of the Missiesiniwa, 
(about 1836) lost his way, was overtaken by night, 
and sought the shelter of a neighbouring wigwam. It 
belonged to a wealthy hunter, and was profusely stored 
with skins, arms, and provisions. The agent was 
kindly received, and after supper entered into con- 
versation with the hostess. Ewing was soon sur- 
prised by observing that her hair was fine and flaxen- 
coloured, and that, under her dress, her skin appeared 
to be white. He received from her the astonishing 
story, that she was the daughter of white parents, 
that her name was Slocum, that when five years old 
she had been carried captive by Indians from a house 
on the Susquehanna. All else was forgotten. 

On reaching home, the agent related his adventure 
to his mother. At her solicitation he wrote an ac- 
count of it, which he sent to Lancaster for publication. 
Through some unaccountable neglect it lay in the 
office two years ; but when it was published, it was 

*n a few days seen by Mr. Slocum of Wilkesbarre, 

u 



230 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the little boy saved by the girl of tlnrteen, sixty 
years before. He iramediately started for Indiana, 
accompanied by the sister who had saved him, at the 
same time writing to his brother to meet him at the 
wigwam. The little incidents connected with this 
most remarkable journey have been preserved with 
care, and may afford ground for pleasurable reflection. 
" I shall know my sister," said the lady, " because 
she lost the nail of her first finger. Your brother 
hammered it ofl' in the blacksmith's shop when she 
was four years old." On entering the cabin, they 
beheld an Indian woman, apparently seventy-five 
years old, painted and jewelled. Yet her hair was 
as the agent had described it, and her skin beneath 
her dress appeared white. They obtained an inter- 
preter and began to converse. We may imagine the 
feelings of the little party, w^hile they Hstened to the 
Indian woman's tale. The incidents of the assault 
and capture— too well known already — were disclosed 
wdth a faithfulness which left no room for doubt. 
" How came your nail gone ?" inquired the sister. 
" My elder brother pounded it off when I was a little 
child in the shop." What was your name then ?" 
She did not remember. "Was it Frances?" She 
smiled on hearing the long-forgotten sound, and 
promptly answered, " Yes." All were now satisfied 
that they were of one family, and yet there was little 
joy in that meeting. There was a sadness, not merely 
through remembrance of the past, but of a kind pre- 
sent, deep, pamfal; for though the brothers were 
walking the cabin unable to speak, and the sister was 



THE LOST SISTER OF WYOMING. 231 

sobbing in anguish, yet there sat the poor Indian sis- 
ter, motionless and passionless. No throb disclosed 
that the chords of her bosom were touched ; for there 
were in her bosom no fine chords to be touched. 

Frances's story may be told in a few words. The 
party which had conducted the attack against her 
father's house was composed of Delawares. With 
this tribe she remained until grown up^ when she 
married one of their chiefs. He died or ran away, 
when she became united to a Miami. She had two 
daughters, both of whom grew up and married In- 
dians. They all lived in one cabin, rode the same 
horses, and at night slept in the same manner — which 
was on the ground, wrapped in a blanket. 

The brothers and sister tried to persuade their sis- 
ter to return with them, and, if she desired it, to bring 
her children. They offered to give her a happy home 
on the banks of the Susquehanna. She answered 
that she had always lived with the Indians; that 
they had always been kind to her ; that she had pro- 
mised her late husband, on his death-bed, never to 
leave them, and that promise she was resolved to 
keep. Sad and sorrowful the three generous relatives 
retraced their steps, leaving their sister in the wilder- 
ness. 

The "Indian sister" died in 1847. Although to 
her last days, her manners and customs were those 
of the Indian, yet there was something in her appear- 
ance which seemed to raise her above her companions. 
Her household displayed taste and neatness, and ow- 
ing to her economy in her domestic affairs, her tent 



232 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



was always stocked with plenty. She was admired 
alike by the red and the white man. Her grave is 
on a beautiful knoll near the confluence of the Mis- 
sissinewa with the "Wabash, — a spot chosen by her- 
self, and which had been her place of residence for 
thirty years. 



DISASTER OF MISSOURI TRADERS. 



233 




SAXTA FE, NZ-W MEXICO. 

In December, 1832, twelve missionaries left Santa 
Fe, and proceeded by way of the Canadian river to- 
ward Independence. Their mules were laden with 
about ten thousand dollars in specie. On reaching 
the river, they beheld a large party of Camanche 
and Kiawa Indians approaching. Both parties halt- 
ed, and the traders, while eyeing their antagonists, 
prepared for defence. Instead of charging, the In- 
dians approached, one by one, in the most friendly 
manner, and stationed themselves so as to surround 
the traders. The latter, becoming alarmed, moved 
forward with some speed, at which the Camanches 

30 u 2 



234 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



mounted their horses and quietly jogged on after 
them. After both parties had proceeded a short dis- 
tance, two mules suddenly started from the others 
and trotted toward the river. One of the mission- 
aries, named Pratt, went to bring them back. At 
that moment the work of death began. Pratt was 
shot dead and, as he fell, every Indian rushed for- 
ward toward the little band. The traders leaped 
from their horses and poured in a volley upon the as- 
sailants, which drove them to their former position. 
Another of their number had fallen ; but they took 
advantage of the Lidians' repulse to form a barricade 
with the packs of their mules. Behind this they 
scratched a trench with their hands, which protected 
them from their enemies' fire. The Camanches made 
several charges ; but they were each time repulsed, 
although in a short time all the mules and horses be- 
longing to the party were killed or wounded. Thus 
foiled, the Lidians changed their tactics, and convert 
ed the assault into a siege. The situation of the ten 
traders was now deplorable. Food they could obtain 
from the slain animals; but they were on a dry, 
sandy spot, destitute of water, and deprived of every 
means of obtaining it. To die by thirst was more 
dreadful than the certainty of death by the Indians, 
and, after remaining thirty-six hours in a state of 
siege, they resolved upon a so?iie by night. The 
animals being killed, it was impossible to carry away 
all the money. Each man, therefore, took as much 
as he could carry, and the remainder was buried. 
Then the little party emerged silently from their 



DISASTER OF MISSOURI TRADERS. 235 

hiding-placGj passed through the lines of the sleeping 
savages, and hurried on their march. At every step 
they expected to hear the heavy sound of pursuit ; 
but what must appear most extraordinary, they saw 
no more of the Camanches. 

But the sufferings of these men were not yet at an end. 
Their provisions and ammunition gradually wasted. 
For a while they sustained themselves upon bark and 
roots. Their feet were burnt and torn by the heated 
sands or rocks, and, finally, they lost their route. Dis- 
putes ensued : five took one direction and five another. 
After enduring intense sufferings, one of these parties 
arrived among the Creek settlements on the Arkansas 
river, where they were kindly received and nursed 
until they had recovered. Of the other five, three found 
graves in the wilderness. The remaining two, after 
enduring intense sufferings, succeeded in reaching the 
United States. Of course, all their money had been 
abandoned along the way, and it was afterwards ascer- 
tained that the Camanches had dug up the portion 
which was buried. 



236 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




THE MOOSE. 

||>imiw| tie JMooge* 

The Moose* {Cervus alces) inhabits the northern 
parts of the continents of Europe and America. On 
the American it has been found as far north as that 
country has been fully explored ; its southern range 
once extended to the shores of the great lakes, and 
throughout the New England States. At present 
it is not heard of south of the State of Maine, where 
it is becoming rare. 

* It is in Europe frequently called the Elk ; but the elk, ( Cervus 
Canadensis,) red deer, wapiti, or stag, is distinguished from the 
moose by the most striking characters. 



HUNTING THE MOOSE. 



237 



The male moose often exceeds the largest horse in 
size ; the females are considerably smaller, and differ- 
ently coloured. The hair of the male is long and 
soft ; it is black at the tip, within it is of an ash 
colour, and at the base pure white. The hair of the 
female is of a sandy-brown colour, and in some places, 
particularly under the throat and belly, it is nearly 
white at the tip, and altogether so at the base. 

Dense forests and closely shaded swamps are the 
favourite resorts of these animals, as there the most 
abundant supply of food is to be obtained with the 
least inconvenience. The length of limb and short- 
ness of neck, which in an open pasture appear so dis- 
advantageous, are here of essential importance, in 
enabling the moose to crop the buds and young twigs 
of the birch, maple, or poplar; or, should he prefer 
the aquatic plants which grow most luxuriantly 
where the soil is unfit to support other animals, the 
same length of limb enables him to feed with security 
and ease. When obliged to feed on level ground, the 
animal must either kneel or separate his fore legs 
very widely. In feeding on the sides of acclivities, 
the moose does so with less inconvenience, by grazing 
from below upwards, and the steeper the ground the 
easier it is for him to pasture. Yet, whenever food 
can be procured from trees and shrubs, it is preferred 
to that which is only to be obtained by grazing. 

In the summer, the moose frequents swampy or 
low grounds, near the margins of lakes and rivers, 
through which they delight to swim, as it frees them 
for the time from the annoyance of insects. They 



288 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



are also seen wading out from the shores, for the pur- 
pose of feeding on the aquatic plants that rise to the 
surface of the water. At this season they regularly 
frequent the same place in order to drink, of which 
circumstance the Indian hunter takes advantage to 
lie in ambush, and secure the destruction of the deer. 
During the winter, the moose, in families of fifteen or 
twenty, seek the depths of the forest for shelter and 
food. 

The moose is generally hunted in the month of 
March, when the snow is deep and sufficiently crusted 
with ice to bear the weight of a dog, but not of a 
moose. Five or six Indians, provided with knapsacks 
and snow-shoes, containing food for about a week, and 
f all necessary implements for making their ^^camp" 
at night, set out in search of a moose yard. When 
they have discovered one, they collect their dogs and 
encamp for the night, in order to be ready to com- 
mence the chase at an early hour, before the sun 
softens the crust upon the snow, which would retard 
the dogs and facilitate the escape of the deer. At 
daybreak the dogs are laid on, and the hunters, wear- 
ing large snow-shoes, follow as closely as possible. As 
soon as the dogs approach a moose, they assail him 
on all sides, and force him to attempt his escape by 
flight. The deer, however, does not run far, before 
the crust on the snow, through which he breaks at 
every step, cuts his legs so severely that the poor ani- 
mal stands at bay, and endeavours to defend himself 
against the dogs by striking at them with his fore- 
feet. The arrival of the hunter within a convenient 



HUNTING THE MOOSE. 



241 



distance soon terminates the combat, as a ball from 
bis rifle rarely fails to bring the moose down. 

I will now close the account of the moose with an 
anecdote I once heard of a hunter. 

The hounds had been put into the woods for the 
purpose of scenting a deer — a business with which 
they were well acquainted, whilst the hunter placed 
himself in a convenient spot, suitably near the deer's 
run-aifjay^ so as to be able to bring it down at a shot, 
as it fled at the noise of the dogs from the mountain 
to the river. The spot he selected to wait in ambush 
was on a certain flat, very near the foot of the steep 
hill. This flat was about three-quarters of a mile in 
length : at one end was the hill by which our hunter 
stood ; at the other, a steep bank along the edge of 
the river. The hunter had chosen his position well; 
he had narrowly examined the contents of his rifle, 
and made sure that the priming was in good order ; 
he had rubbed the edge of the flint on his hat to 
make it brighter — all was in readiness, and he stood 
in a listening attitude, with his ear turned towards 
the hill, and his mouth slightly open to assist his 
hearing. 

He had not waited in his hiding-place long, when 
the distant cry of the hounds struck his ear. He 
now knew that but a few minutes would pass before 
a deer would be seen bounding along in the path of 
their run-away ^ for his dogs had given tokens of the 
chase by their yells. He was not deceived ; he heard 
plainly the rapid, but heavy bounds of a deer, which 
in an instant after he perceived, as it broke over the 

31 X 



242 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



brow of the hill, with its majestic antlers thrown 
back over its neck. Now comes the decisive moment; 
one leap more and his noble breast is exposed to 
death, within a few yards of the fatal gun which has 
already been brought to the hunter's cheek, while his 
eye looked steadily along the smooth barrel. The 
trigger was touched — a blaze, and the death-ring 
struck sharp and shrill on the still air. The fugitive, 
a noble buck, fell, and the hunter, in a moment, to 
secure his victim, having dropped his gun and drawn 
his knife, sprung across his back in order to cut his 
throat. 

But, behold ! the ball had struck one of his horns 
only near the root, which stunned the animal and 
caused it to fall. He recovered his feet again before 
the hunter had time to wound him with his knife, 
and, finding his enemy on his back, he rose and 
sprung off with the speed of an arrow ; while the 
hunter, having full occupation for his hands in hold- 
ing fast by the horns, found no time to invade his 
throat. So, clinging with his feet under the belly of 
the deer, he was borne away at a fearful rate the 
whole length of the flat, till he came to the steep 
bank of the river, at which place he had no sooner 
arrived, than, with his rider, the deer plunged with a 
tremendous leap into the deep water. 

Here a scuffle ensued between the hunter and the 
deer ; the deer endeavouring to push him under wa- 
ter with his fore-feet, while the hunter was striving 
to hold its head, and at the same time cut its throat. 
This he soon accomplished, and, swimming ashore. 



THE RIFLEMAN OF CHIPPEWA. 



243 



drew his prize after him, declaring to his companions, 
who had witnessed the sport, and were now assem- 
bled on the river's bank, that he had had " a most 
glorious ride." 

This man's name was John M^MuUen, and he is 
well remembered even now by many of the old inha- 
bitants along the Susquehanna. 



The Chippewas are a numerous people inhabiting 
the country north of Lake Superior, and about the 
source of the Mississippi. They are divided into 
several tribes, and are distinguished by the number 
of blue or black lines tattooed on their cheeks and 
foreheads. 

Travellers have always described them as "the 
most peaceable tribes of Indians known in North 
America." They are not ren arkable for their activity 
as hunters, and this no doubt is owing to the ease with 
which they can procure both game and fish. 

In their pursuit of deer, they sometimes drive them 
into the small lakes, and then spear them from their 
canoes ; or shoot them with the bow and arrow, after 
having driven them into enclosures constructed for 
the purpose. Snares made of deer sinews, too, are 
frequently used for catching both large and small 
game : and as these occupations are not beyond the 
strength of the old men and boys, they take a share 



244 THRILLING ADVEXTURES. 

in these toils, which among most of the tribes are 
left exclusivelv to the squaws. 

In person, the Chippewas are not remarkable ; they 
are generally robust, their complexions swarthy, their 
features broad, and their hair straight and black, 
which is the case in most of the Indian tribes. But 
they have not that piercing eye, which so generally 
animates the Indian countenance. 

The aspect of the women is more agTeeable than 
that of the men; they wear their hair of a great 
length, and pay much attention to its arrangement, 
greasing it with bear's oil, and plaiting it with con- 
siderable taste. 

They appear to be more attentive to the comforts 
of dress, and less anxious about its exterior, than 
some of their red brethren. Deer and fawn skins, 
dressed with the hair on, so skilfully that they are 
perfectly supple, compose their shirt or coat, which 
is girt round the waist with a belt, and reaches half 
way down the thigh. Their moccasins and leggins 
are generally sewn toget^ ler, and the latter meet the 
belt to which they are fastened. A ruff or tippet 
surrounds the neck, and the skin of the deer's head 
is formed into a curious sort of cap. 

A robe made of several deer skins sewn together is 
thrown over the whole ; this dress is sometimes worn 
single, but in winter it is always made double, the 
hair forming both the hning and the outside. 

Thus attired, a Chippewa will lay himself down on 
the snow and repose in comfort ; and if in his wan- 
derings across the numerous lakes with which his 



THE RIFLEMAN OF CHIPPEWA. 



245 



country abounds, he should fall short of provision, he 
has only to cut a hole in the ice, when he seldom 
fails of taking a black-fish, or a bass, which he broils 
over his Httle wood fire with as much skill as a 
French cook. 

At the time of the French and Indian wars, the 
American army was encamped on the Plains of Chip- 
pewa. Colonel St. Clair, the commander, was a brave 



and meritorious officer, but his bravery sometimes 
amounted to rashness, and his enemies have accused 
him of indiscretion. In the present instance perhaps 
he may have merited the accusation, for the plain on 
which he had encamped was bordered by a dense 
forest, from which the Indian scoots could easily pick 
off his sentinels without in the least exposing them- 
selves to danger. 

Five nights had passed, and every night the sen- 
tinel who stood at a lonely out-post in the vicinity of 
the forest had been shot ; and these repeated disasters 
struck such dread among the remaining soldiers, 

x2 




COLONEL, AFTEETVARDS GENERAL ST. CLAIR. 



246 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



that no one would come forward to offer to take tht 
post, and the commander, knowing it was only throw 
ing away men's lives, let it stand for a few nights un 
occupied. 

At length a rifleman of the Virginian corps vo- 
lunteered his services for this dangerous duty; he 
laughed at the fears of his companions, and told them 
he meant to return safe and drink his commander's 
health in the morning. The guard marched up soon 
after, and he shouldered his rifle and fell in. He 
arrived at the place which had been so fatal to his 
comrades, and bidding his fellow soldiers ^'good 
night," assumed the duties of his post. The night 
was dark, thick clouds overspread the firmament, and 
hardly a star could be seen by the sentinel as he paced 
his lonely walk. All was silent except the gradually 
retreating footsteps of the guard : he marched onwards, 
then stopped and listened till he thought he heard 
the joyful sound of " All's well" — then all was still, 
and he sat down on a fallen tree and began to muse. 
Presently a low rustling among the bushes caught his 
ear ; he gazed intently towards the spot whence the 
sound seemed to proceed, but he could see nothing 
save the impenetrable gloom of the forest. The sound 
drew nearer, and a well-known grunt informed liim 
of the approach of a bear. The animal passed the 
soldier slowly, and then quietly sought the thicket to 
the left. At this moment the moon shone out bright 
through the parting clouds, and the wary soldier per- 
ceived the ornamented moccasin of a savage on what 
an instant before he believed to be a bear ! He could 



THE RIFLEMAN OF CHIPPEWA. 



24t 



have shot him in a moment, but he knew not how 
many other such animals might be at hand ; he there- 
fore refrained, and having perfect knowledge of Indian 
subtiltj, he quickly took off his hat and coat, hung 
them on a branch of the fallen tree, grasped his rifle, 
and silently crept towards the thicket. He had 
barely reached it, when an arrow, whizzing past his 
head, told him of the danger he had so narrowly 
escaped. 

He looked carefully round him, and on a little spot 
of cleared land he counted twelve Indians, some sit- 
ting, some lying full length on the thickly strewn 
leaves of the forest. Believing that they had already 
shot the sentinel, and little thinking there was any 
one within hearing, they were quite off their guard, 
and conversed aloud about their plans for the morrow. 

It appeared that a council of twelve chiefs was 
now held, in which they gravely deliberated on the 
most effectual means of annoying the enemy. It was 
decided that the next evening forty of their warriors 
should be in readiness at the hour when the sentinel 
should be left by his comrades, and that when they 
had retired a few paces, an arrow should silence him 
for ever, and they would then rush on and massacre 
the guard. 

This being concluded, they rose, and drawing the 
numerous folds of^ their ample robes closer round 
them, they marched off in Indian file* through the 

* One behind the other, and every man in succession setting his 
foot exactly in the track of the leader, so that whether there are fifty 
men, or only one, cannot be discovered by their footsteps. 
32 



250 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



gloomy forest, seeking some more distant spot, where 
the smoke of their nightly fire would not be observed 
by the white men. 

The sentinel rose from his hiding-place and returned 
to his post, and taking down his hat, found that an 
arrow had passed clean through it. He then wrapt 
himself in his watch-coat, and returned immediately 
to the camp; and without any delay demanded to 
speak to the commander, sajdng that he had some- 
thing important to communicate. 

He was admitted, and when he had told all that he 
had seen and heard, the Colonel bestowed on him the 
commission of lieutenant of the Virginia corps, which 
had been made vacant by the death of one of his 
unfortunate comrades a few nights back, and ordered 
him to be ready with a picket guard, to march an 
hour earlier than usual to the fatal out-post, there to 
place a hat and coat on the branches, and then lie 
in ambush for the intruders. 

The following evening, according to the orders 
given by Colonel St. Clair, a detachment of forty 
riflemen, with Lieutenant Morgan at their head, 
marched from the camp at half-past seven in the eve- 
ning towards the appointed spot, and having arranged 
the hat and coat so as to have the appearance of a 
soldier standing on guard, they stole silently away and 
hid themselves among the bushes. 

Here they lay for almost an hour before any signs 
of approaching Indians were heard. The night was 
cold and still, and the rising moon shone forth in all 
her beauty. The men were becoming impatient of 



THE RIFLEMAN OF CHIPPEWA. 



251 




0£N£BAL MOBGAN. 



their uncomfortable situation, for their clothes were 
not so well adapted to a bed of snow as the deer-skin 
robes of the hardy Chippewas. 

" Silence !" whispered Lieutenant Morgan — " I 
hear the rustling of the leaves." 

Presently a bear of the same description as had 
been seen the night before, passed near the ambush ; 
it crept to the edge of the plain — reconnoitred — saw 
the sentinel at his post — retired towards the forest a 
few paces, and then, suddenly rising on his feet, let 
fly an arrow which brought the sham sentinel to the 



252 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ground. So impatient were the Virginians to avenge 
the death of their comrades, that they could scarcely 
wait till the lieutenant gave the word of command to 
fire — then they rose in a body, and before the Chip- 
pewas had time to draw their arrows or seize their 
tomahawks, more than half their number lay dead 
upon the plain. The rest fled to the forest, but the 
riflemen fired again, and killed or wounded several 
more of the enemy. They then returned in triumph 
to relate their exploits in the camp. 

Ten chiefs fell that night, and their fall was, un- 
doubtedly, one principal cause of the French and In- 
dian wars with the English. 

Lieutenant Morgan rose to be a captain, and at 
the termination of the war returned home, and lived 
on his own farm till the breaking out of the American 
war. And then, at the head of a corps of Virginia 
riflemen, appeared our hero, the brave and gallant 
Colonel Morgan, better known by the title of General, 
which he soon acquired by his courage and ability. 



THE INDIAN AND THE WILD TURKEY. 253 




The male bird of the wild turkey, or gobbler, is i 
noble bird, and his plumage is resplendent with tl e 
brightest gold-tinged bronze, varying, as he chang es 
position, to blue, violet, and green. Each feather is 
terminated with a deep black band, and has also a 
bronze or copper-coloured lustre. The feathers from 
the tail make excellent wings for "hare's ears," 
and "deep purple" artificial flies are quite as good 

Y 



254 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



as the mallard's coat, and infinitely better than those 
of the domestic bird used for the same purpose. 

The wild turkey-cock has a long pendent tuft of 
hair on its breast. This, as well as the carnucles 
about the head and neck, comes to perfection and ar- 
rives at the greatest size and length in the third year. 
Audubon says, that from fifteen to eighteen pounds 
may be taken as a fair average of their weight 5 but 
that he once saw a gobbler in the Louisville market 
which weighed thirty-six pounds, and the tuft of hair 
on the breast measured upwards of a foot. Bona- 
parte confirms this account, and remarks that birds 
of thirty pounds are not rare. 

The wild turkey, however he may be surprised 
when feeding in patches of maize or buckwheat in 
the clearance, is the most difficult bird possible to find 
in the woods, as they run with great swiftness, and 
are most watchful. They are bad flyers, and for that 
reason go up to the tops of the highest trees before 
they will attempt the passage of rivers of no great 
width ; and even then the weakest birds are often 
sacrificed in the attempt. The lumberers on the 
Mississippi, Ohio, and other broad streams, are so 
well aware of their proceedings, that, when they 
hear the row, the strutting, the gobbling, and all 
the other devices practised by the oldest birds to 
instil courage into the funking part of the commu- 
nity, they take up a position in the neighbourhood, 
and, so soon as the turkeys make up their mind, and 
have screwed their courage up for a start, they con- 
trive to bag great quantities which have fallen into 



THE INDIAN AND THE WILD TURKEY. 255 

the water. After mounting the highest trees they 
can find, they stretch out their necks once or twice, 
as if to take breath ; and, at a given signal, all start 
together for the nearest point on the opposite side, 
descending constantly until they reach it. 

In the love-making season, there is no end to the 
strutting and puffing of the male, for the purpose of 
winning the admiration of his mate ; and his splen- 
did tail is then spread in the form of a fan — a habit 
pursued on the same occasion both by the ruffed and 
pinnated species of grouse. After the season of in- 
cubation, the males cease to gobble, and are easily 
killed ; but at this time they are of no value, being 
meagre and covered with vermin. In the breeding 
season, however, they are often decoyed within shot, 
by blowing through the large bone of the turkey's 
wing, cut off at one end, and which, if skilfully per- 
formed, produces exactly the plaintive sound of the 
female. When this practice is followed, the hunter 
proceeds cautiously ami alone, and places himself 
under " a roost." As the light appears, he may find 
himself directly under a flock of turkeys ; but, if not, 
he must wait until he hears the gobble. Then, says 
a Yankee writer, in " The Spirit of the Times,"* the 
first sound from the old gobblers the hunter answers 
by the plaintive note of the female, and the male bird 
is ready to search out a mistress with becoming gal- 
lantry. " Pup, pup," lisps the hunter ; " Gobble, 
gobble," utters the proud bird ; and here the interest 
of the hunt commences. Then is to be seen the 

* The "BelFs Life" of the New World, published in New York. 



256 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



alluring on of the gobbler, his strutting and prancings, 
and a thousand gallant airs, for his lady-love. Anon 
his suspicions get the better of his love, and the 
coward is plainly visible in his suddenly contracted 
body and air of ready flight. The hunter warily 
plies his music, and the bird comes on, until the sure 
rifle finds the beautiful bird in its range. This, how- 
ever, requires to be practised with skill, for the cau- 
tiousness of the wild turkey is wonderful, surpassing 
that of the deer or any other game whatever ; and 
nothing but stratagem and the most intimate know- 
ledge of its habits will command success. 

We once knew an Indian," says the above-quoted 
writer, who gained a living by bringing game into a 
town in the West, who always boasted exceedingly 
if he could add a wild turkey to his common load of 
deer; and, as the demand for birds was greater than 
he could supply, he was taunted by the disappointed 
epicures of the village for want of skill in hunting. 
To this charge he would always reply with great in- 
dignation, saying that the quality of venison which . 
he brought to market was sufficient proof of his be- 
ing a good hunter. ' Look here,' he would angrily 
say ; ^ I see deer on the prairie ; deer look up and 
say, May be Indian, may be stump, and deer eats on. 
Come little nearer, deer look up again and say, May 
be Indian, may be stump ; and first thing deer knows 
he dead. I see wild turkey great way off ; creep up 
very slowly ; turkey look up and say first time he 
see me, Dat rascal Indian any how, and off he goes. 
No catch turkey ; he cunning too much' 



THE INDIAN AND THE BEAR. 



259 



"fyiUm He Wmt. 

The animal fell, and set up a most plaintive cry — 
something like that of the panther when he is hun- 
gry. The hunter, instead of giving him another shot, 
stood up close to him, and addressed him in these 
words : — " Harkee, bear ! you are a coward, and no 
warrior, as you pretend to be. Were you a warrior, 
you would show it by your firmness, and not cry and 
whimper like an old woman. You know, bear, that 
our tribes are at war with each other, and that yours 
was the aggressor. You have found the Indians too 
powerful for you, and you have gone sneaking about 
in the woods, stealing their hogs ; perhaps at this 
time you have hog's flesh in your belly. Had you 
conquered me, I would have borne it with courage 
and died like a brave warrior. But you, bear, sit 
here and cry, and disgrace your tribe by your cow- 
ardly conduct." 

I was present at the delivery of this curious invec- 
tive. When the hunter had despatched the bear, I 
asked him how he thought the poor animal could un- 
derstand what he said to it. "Oh," said he, in 
answer, " the bear understood me very well. Did not 
you observe how • ashamed he looked while I was 
upbraiding him ?" 



260 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



On the 29th of August, 1708, this unfortunate vil- 
lage, then consisting of about thirty houses, was at- 
tacked by a party of French and Indians. At break 
of day the inhabitants aroused themselves just in 
time to find that the enemy were upon them. A 
Mrs. Smith was the first victim. She was shot while 
fleeing from her house to a neighbouring garrison. 
The foremost party then attacked the house of the 
Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, which was then garrisoned by 
three soldiers. Leaping from the bed, he placed him- 
self against the door, and called to the soldiers, who 
were in an opposite room, for assistance. This manly 
garrison, after closing the intervening door, answered 
by running through the rooms wringing their hands. 
The Indians then fired two balls through the door, 
one of which wounded Rolfe in the elbow. They 
then pressed against it with united strength; and, 
finding his efforts useless, he rushed precipitately 
through the house and out at the back door. He was 
pursued, overtaken, and tomahawked. The house 
was then plundered. Mrs. Rolfe was found and mur- 
dered ; while the youngest child, torn from her dying 
grasp, was dashed against a stone. A female slave, 
named Hagar, leaped from her bed, carried two of the 
children, one six, the other eight years old, to the 
cellar, and covered them with tubs. She then hid 
herself behind a barrel. The Indians entered the 
cellar, plundered it of every thing valuable, passed 




Attack on Haverhill. 



ATTACK ON HAVERHILL. 



263 



and repassed the tubs, took meat from the barrel, and 
drank milk from the pans ; yet the children and 
their faithful protectress escaped unnoticed. A girl 
named Anna Whittaker concealed herself in an apple- 
chest under the stairway, and escaped unharmed. 
The three soldiers, destitute of either the sagacity or 
courage of slaves and children, threw themselves in 
tears before the Indians, and were tomahawked. 

A second party attacked the family of Thomas 
Hartshorne. The father, with two sons, attempted 
to escape, but were immediately shot dead. A third 
son was tomahawked at the door. The mother, with 
all her younger children, was now alone. With asto- 
nishing presence of mind, she left her infant in a bed 
in the garret, lest its cries might defeat her plans, 
and then hurried with her remaining family to the 
cellar. As usual, the Indians subjected each room to 
a rigid scrutiny, but failed to find the mother. Her 
infant they threw out of the garret window. When 
all was over, it was found on a pile of clap-boards, 
completely stunned by the fall. It lived, however, to 
become a man of uncommon strength and stature, a 
circumstance which gave rise to the joke that he had 
been stunted by the Indians. 

Meanwhile, similar attacks were made in different 
parts of the village. Lieutenant John Johnson was 
shot while standing in the door with his wife. She 
fled through the house into the garden, carrying her 
infant with her, but was overtaken and murdered. 
Her last thoughts were those of a mother : in the 
agonies of death she could fall so as to cover her 



264 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

child with her body without hurting it ; and, when 
the massacre was over, it was taken unharmed from 
her cold bosom. The wife of Captain Samuel "Wain- 
wright was more fortunate. A party killed her hus- 
band at the first fire. Some soldiers in the house 
were preparing to defend it, when Mrs. Wainwright 
fearlessly unbarred the door and invited the Indians 
in. The kindness displayed in her voice and manner, 
and the alacrity with which she waited upon them, 
completely paralyzed the Indians. Entering cau- 
tiously, they refrained from violence ; but, after some 
time, asked for money. She retired to bring it, but 
did not return. We must admire the stratagem of a 
helpless woman, who could thus amuse the infuriated 
murderers of her husband, until the whole family had 
had time to escape. The money-beggars w^ere not 
long in ascertaining how matters stood, and their rage 
and disappointment amounted to actual fury. Their 
efibrts to force a way into the soldiers were, however, 
vain ; and after attempting to fire the house, they 
were forced to retreat. Two of their number were 
afterwards killed in a field. 

The wife of Mr. Swan also displayed a coolness 
and courage which does honour to her sex. When 
the Indians approached the house, the husband and 
wife placed themselves against the door, which was 
so narrow that two could scarcely enter abreast. The 
assailants, after their first rush had failed, changed 
their tactics — one placing his back against it while 
the other pushed him. The door began to give way, 
and Mr. Swan, who was no way remarkable for 



ATTACK ON HAVERHILL. 



265 



strength, and still less for heroism, intimated to his 
wife that " it would be better to let them in." She 
had no such idea. The door was now partially open, 
the front Indian crowding himself in, and the other 
pushing lustily after; but the woman, seizing her 
iron spit, which was nearly three feet long, drove it 
through the body of the foremost foe. At so un- 
looked-for a welcome, his speed suddenly slackened ; 
he and his companion left hastily, and the family was 
saved. 

Another Indian party set fire to the back part of 
the meeting-house, a new and an elegant building. 
But at this time a man, named Davis, went behind 
Eolfe's barn, which was near the church, struck it 
violently with a large club, called on men by name, 
gave the word of command, as though ordering an 
attack, and shouted with a loud voice, " Come on ; 
we will have them." The party in Eolfe's house sup- 
posing the military had come, retired precipitately; 
and, about the same time. Major Turner arrived with 
a company of soldiers, when the whole body of In- 
dians commenced a disorderly retreat. They did not 
retire unmolested. Captain Samuel Ayer, a fearless 
man, collected a small party and pursued. He was 
soon joined by a similar force under his son, and 
overtook the Indians as they were entering the woods. 
A battle ensued, in which the latter were defeated, 
and several of the prisoners were recovered. 



34 



z 



266 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 





Mr. Catlin gives the following narrative of a 
thrilling adventure, which took place while he was 
exhibiting a party of Iowa Indians at his exhibition 
rooms in London : — 

The night of this memorable day I had announced 
as the last night of the Indians at the Egyptian Hall, 
arrangements having been effected for their exhibi- 
tions to be made a few days in Yauxhall Gardens 



BOBASHEELA. ' '2167 

before leaving London for some of the provincial 
towns. This announcement, of course, brought a 
dense crowd into the Hall, and in it, as usual, many 
of my old friends, to take their last gaze at the 
Indians. 

The amusements were proceeding this evening as 
on former occasions, when a sudden excitement was 
raised in the following manner. In the midst of one 
of their noisy dances, the war-chief threw himself, 
with a violent jump and a yell of the shrill war- 
whoop, to the corner of the platform, where he landed 
on his feet in a half-crouching position, with his eyes 
and one of his forefingers fixed upon something that 
attracted his whole attention in a distant part of the 
crowd. The dance stopped — the eyes of all the In- 
dians, and of course those of most of the crowd, were 
attracted to the same point ; the eyes of the old war- 
chief were standing open, and in a full blaze upon 
the object before him, which nobody could well ima- 
gine, from his expression, to be any thing less excit- 
ing than a huge panther, or a grisly bear, in the act 
of springing upon him. After staring a while, and 
then shifting his weight upon the other leg, and tak- 
ing a moment to wink, for the relief of his eyes, he 
resumed the intensity of his gaze upon the object be- 
fore him in the crowd, and was indulging during a 
minute or two in a dead silence, for the events of 
twenty or thirty years to run through his mind, when 
he sloAvly straightened up to a more confident posi- 
tion, with his eyes relaxed, but still fixed upon their 
object, when, in an emphatic and ejaculatory tone, 



268 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



he pronounced the bewildering word of Bobasheela 1 
and repeated it, Bobasheela ? " Yes, I'm Bobasheela, 
my good old fellow ! I knew your voice as soon as 
you spoke, though you don't understand English yet." 
Chee-au-mung-ta-wangish-kee, Bobasheela. " My 
friends, mil you allow me to move along towards that 
good old fellow ? — he knows me." At which the old 
chief (not of a Imndred, but) of mani/ battles, gave a 
yell and a leap from the platform, and took his faith- 
ful friend Bobasheela in his arms, and, after a lapse 
of thirty years, had the pleasure of warming his cheek 
against that of one of his oldest and dearest friends — 
one whose heart, we have since found, had been tried 
and trusted, and as often requited, in the midst of the 
dense and distant wildernesses of the banks of the 
Mississippi and Missouri. While this extraordinary 
interview was proceeding, all ideas of the dance were 
for the time lost sight of, and, while these veterans 
were rapidly and mutually reciting the evidences of 
their bygone days of attachment, there came a simul- 
taneous demand from all parts of the room for an in- 
terpretation of their conversation, which I gave as far 
as I could understand it, and as far as it had then 
proceeded, thus : — The old Sachem, in leading off his 
favourite war-dance, suddenly fixed his eye upon a 
face in the crowd, which he instantly recognised, and, 
gazing upon it a moment, decided that it was the 
well-known face of an old friend, with whom he had 
spent many happy days of his early life on the banks 
of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in America. 
The old chief, by appealing to this gentleman's familiar 



BOBASHEELA. 



269 



Indian cognomen of Bobasheela, brought out an in- 
stant proof of the correctness of his recognition ; and, 
as he held him by both hands to make proof doubly 
strong, he made much merriment among the party of 
Indians, by asking him if he ever " floated down any 
part of the great Mississippi river in the night, astride 
of two huge logs of wood, with his legs hanging in 
the water ?" To which Bobasheela instantly replied 
in the affirmative. After which, and several medicine 
phrases and masonic grips and signs had passed be- 
tween them, the dance was resumed, and the rest of 
the story, as well as other anecdotes of the lives of 
these extraordinary personages, postponed to the pro- 
per time and place, when and where the reader will 
be sure to hear them. 

The exhibition for the evening being over, Boba- 
sheela was taken home with the Indians to their lodg- 
ings to smoke a pipe with them; and, having had 
the curiosity to be of the party, I was enabled to 
gather the following further information : This Bo- 
basheela, (Mr. J. H., a native of Cornwall,) who 
is now spending the latter part of a very independ- 
ent bachelor's life among his friends in London, 
left his native country as long ago as the year 1805, 
and, making his way, like many other bold adven- 
turers, across the Alleghany mountains in America, 
descended into the great and almost boundless valley 
of the Mississippi, in hopes, by his indefatigable in- 
dustry and daring enterprise, to share in the products 
that must find their way from that fertile wilderness 
valley to the civilized world. 

z 2 



270 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



In this arduous and most perilous pursuit, he re- 
peatedly ascended and descended in his bark canoe — 
his pirogue or his Mackinaw boat — the Ohio, the 
Muskingum, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, the 
Arkansas, the Missouri, and Mississippi rivers ; and, 
among the thousand and one droll and amusing in- 
cidents of thirty years spent in such a sort of life, 
was the anecdote which the war-chief alluded to, in 
the unexpected meeting with his old friend in my 
exhibition-room, and which the two parties more fully 
related to me in this evening s interview. The good- 
natured Mr. H. told me that the tale was a true one, 
and the awkward predicament spoken of by the war- 
chief was one that he was actually placed in when 
his acquaintance first began with his good friend. 

Though the exhibition had kept us to a late hour, 
the greetings and pleasing reminiscences to be gone 
over by these two reclaimed friends, and, as they 
called themselves, " brothers" of the " Far West,' 
over repeatedly charged pipes of k'nick k'neck, were 
pleasing, and held us to a most unreasonable hour at 
night. When the chief, among his rapid interroga- 
tions to Bobasheela, asked him if he had preserved 
his she-sJie-quoin, he gave instant reHef to the mind 
of his friend, from which the lapse of time and 
changes of society had erased the recollection of the 
chief's familiar name, She-she-quoi-me-gon, by which 
his friend had christened him, from the circumstance 
of his having presented him a she-she-qiioin, (or mys- 
tery rattle,) the customary badge bestowed when any 



BOBASHEELA. 



271 



one is initiated into the degree of " doctor" or bro- 
ther." 

From the forms and ceremonies which my good 
friend Bobasheela had gone through, it seems (as his 
name indicates) that he stood in the relationship of 
brother to the chief ; and, although the chief's inter- 
rogations had produced him pleasure in one respect, 
one can easily imagine him much pained in another, 
inasmuch as he was obliged to acknowledge that his 
sacred badge, his slie-she-qiioin, had been lost many 
years since, by the sinking of one of his boats on the 
Cumberland river. For his standing in the tribe, 
such an event might have been of an irretrievable 
character ; but for the renewed and continued good 
fellowship of his friend in this country, the accident 
proved to be one of little moment, as will be learned 
from various incidents recited in the following pages. 

In the first evening's interview over the pipe, my 
friend Mr. H., to the great amusement of the party 
of Indians, and of Daniel and the squaws, who had 
gathered around us, as well as several of my London 
friends, related the story of ^'floating down the Mis- 
sissippi river on two logs of wood," &c., as follows : 

"This good old fellow and I formed our first ac- 
quaintance in a very curious way, and, when you 
hear me relate the manner of it, I am quite sure you 
will know how to account for his recognising me this 
evening, and for the pleasure we have both felt at 
thus unexpectedly meeting. In the year 1806, I 
happened to be on a visit to St. Louis, and thence 
proceeded up the Missouri to the mouth of the 



272 THRILLING ADMVTURE?, 

•Femme Osage' to pay a ^isit to my old friend Daniel 
Boone, who had a short time hei-ore left his faimi in 
Kentucky and settled on the h?.::h- c: the }^I:.-souii, 
in the heart of an entire wilderness, to avcii ihe con- 
stant annoyance of the neighbours who had hocked 
into the country around him in Kentucky. The 
place for his future abode^ which k:. :1 -ele::e;i, 
was in a rich and fertile countiw. a:. '. : ::y :r kky 
miles from an}' white inhabitants, whei^ v.-a- de- 
termined to spend the remainder of Ms days, believ- 
iDsr that, for the rest of bis life, he wcakl ":e no more 
annoyed by the familiarity of neighbours. I srent 
several weeks very pleasantly with the old pioneer, 
who had intentionally built his log-cabin so small, 
with only one room and one bed f:r kim-rl: and his 
wife, that even his best friends should :o:: w: :n 

the sacred retirement of his bou-e a: :k_h: ; \ a:, i.av- 
ing shared bis hospitable board kar:n_ rka :i:.y, " "oie 
referred to the cabin of his son. Xathan Ba: i-v. akiut 
four hundred yards distant, where am extr : ::: and 
an extra bed afforded them the means ;f a -iag the 
night. 

"The old hunter and his son were tka- ii^kr.,- very 
happily, and made me comfjrtaVie an:i i. ; ■;y while I 
was with them. The anecdotes of his ex:::. . : a'.inaiy 
Hfe. which were talked over for a:::::-:::::::: ka:i::z 
that time, were enough to fill a v:ia:::a, Tiiie vene- 
rable old man. whose long and hovk::_ l::k^ were sil- 
very white, was then in his 7Sth year. a:::. -::il he 
almost daily took down his trusty rine frcaa. ::- kookB 
in the morning, and in a little time would ".::::. in a 



BOBASHEELA. 



273 



saddle of venison for our breakfast, and thus he 
chiefly supported his affectionate old lady and him- 
self, and the few friends who found their way to his 
solitary abode, without concern or care for the future. 
The stump of a large cotton wood tree, which had 
been cut down, was left standing in the ground, and 
being cut square off on the top, and his cabin being 
built around it, answered the purpose of a table in 
the centre of his cabin, from which our meals were 
eaten. When I made my visit to him, he had been 
living several years in this retired state, and been 
perfectly happy in the undisturbed solitude of the 
wilderness, but told me several times that he was 
becoming very uneasy and distressed, as he found 
that his days of peace were nearly over, as two Yan- 
kee families had already found the way into the 
country, and one of them had actually settled within 
nine miles of him. 

" Having finished my visit to this veteran and his 
son, I mounted my horse, and, taking leave, followed 
an Indian trail to the town of St. Charles, some 
thirty or forty miles below, on the north banks of the 
Missouri. I here visited some old friends with whom 
I had become acquainted on the lower Mississippi in 
former years, and intending to descend the river from 
that to St. Louis by a boat, had sold my horse when 
I arrived there. Before I was ready to embark, how- 
ever, an old friend of mine. Lieutenant Pike, who 
had just returned from his exploring expedition to 
the Eocky Mountains, had passed up from St. Louis 
to a small settlement formed on the east bank of the 

35 



274 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Mississippi, and a few miles below the mouth of the 
Missouri, to attend a wedding which was to take 
place on the very evening that I had received the in- 
formation of it, and, like himself, being intimately 
acquainted with the young man who was to be mar- 
ried, I resolved to be present if possible, though I 
had had no invitation to attend, it not being known 
to the parties that I was in that part of the country. 
The spot where the wedding was to take place being 
on the bank of the river, and on my route to St. 
Louis, I endeavoured to procure a canoe for the pur- 
pose ; but, not being able to get such a thing in St. 
Charles at that time for love or money, and still re- 
solved to be at the wedding, I succeeded in rolling a 
couple of large logs into the stream, which lay upon 
the shore in front of the village, and, lashing them 
firmly together, took a paddle from the first boat that 
I could meet, and, seating myself astride of the two 
logs, I pushed off into the muddy current of the Mis- 
souri, and was soon swept away out of sight of the 
town of St. Charles. My embarkation was a little 
before sundown, and, having fifteen or twenty miles 
to float before I should be upon the waters of the 
Mississippi, I was in the midst of my journey over- 
taken by night, and had to navigate my floating logs 
as well as I could among the snags and sandbars that 
fell in my way. I was lucky, however, in escaping 
them all, though I sometimes grazed them as I 
passed, and within a few inches of being hurled to 
destruction. I at length entered the broad waters of 
the Mississippi, and a few miles below, on the left 



BOBASHEELA. 



277 



bank, saw the light in the cabins in which the 
merry circle of my friends were assembled, and with 
all my might was plying my paddle to propel my 
two logs to the shore. In the midst of my hard 
struggle, I discovered several objects on my right and 
ahead of me, which seemed to be rapidly approach- 
ing me, and I concluded that I was drifting on to 
rocks or snags that were in a moment to destroy me. 
But in an instant one of these supposed snags si- 
lently shot along by the side of my logs, and, being 
a canoe with four Indians in it, and all with their 
bows and war-clubs drawn upon me, they gave the 
signal for silence, as one of them, a tall, long-armed, 
and powerful man, seized me by the collar. Having 
partially learned several of the languages of the In- 
dian tribes bordering on the Mississippi, I understood 
him as he said in the Iowa language, ' Not a word ! 
if you speak you die T At that moment, a dozen or 
more canoes were all drawn close around my two logs 
of wood, astride of which I sat, with my legs in the 
water up to my knees. These canoes were all filled 
with warriors with their weapons in their hands, and, 
no women being with them, I saw they were a war- 
party, and preparing for some mischief. Finding 
that I understood their language and could speak a 
few words with them, the warrior who still held me 
by the collar made a sign to the other canoes to fall 
back a little while he addressed me in a low voice. 
* Do you know the white chief who is visiting his 
friends this night on the bank yonder where we see 
the lights ?' To which I replied, ' Yes, he is an old 

2A 



278 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



friend of mine/ ^ Well/ said he, ' he dies to-nightj 
and all those wigwams are to be laid in ashes. Ste^- 
e-no-ka was a cousin of mine, and Que-tun-ka was a 
good man and a friend to the white people. The 
pale faces hung them like two dogs by their necks, 
and the life of your friend, the white warrior, pays 
the forfeit this night, and many may be the women 
and children who will die by his side I explained 
to him as well as I could that my friend. Lieutenant 
Pike, had had no hand in the execution of the two 
Indians ; that they were hung below St. Louis when 
Lieutenant Pike was on his way home from the Kocky 
Mountains. I told him also that Lieutenant Pike 
was a great friend of the Indians, and would do any 
thing to aid or please them ; that he had gone over 
the river that night to attend the wedding of a friend, 
and little dreamed that among the Indians he had 
any enemies who would raise their hands against 
him. 

" ^My friend,' said he, ^you have said enough; if 
you tell me that your friend, or the friend or the 
enemy of any man, takes the hand of a fair daughter 
on that ground to-night, an Iowa chief will not offend 
the Great Spirit by raising the war-cry there. No 
Iowa can spill the blood of an enemy on the ground 
where the hands and the hearts of man and woman 
are joined together. This is the command of the 
Great Spirit, and an Iowa warrior cannot break it. 
My friend, these warriors you see around me with 
myself had sworn to kill the first human being we 
met on our war-excursion. We shall not harm you ; 



BOBASHEELA. 



279 



so you see that I give you your life. You will, there- 
fore, keep your lips shut, and we will return in peace 
to our village, which is far up the river, and we shall 
hereafter meet our friends, the white people, in the 
great city,* as we have heretofore done, and we have 
many friends there. We shall do no harm to any 
one. My face is now blackened, and the night is 
dark, therefore you cannot know me ; but this arrow 
you will keep — it matches with all the others in my 
auiver, and by it you can always recognise me ; but 
the meeting of this night is not to be known.' He 
gave me the arrow, and with these words turned his 
canoe, and, joining his companions, was in a moment 
out of sight. My arrow being passed under my hat- 
band, and finding that the current had by this time 
drifted me down a mile or two below the place where 
I designed to land, and beyond the power of reaching 
it with my two awkward logs of wood, I steered my 
course onward toward St. Louis, rapidly gliding over 
the surface of the broad river, and arrived safely at 
the shore in front of the town at a late hour in the 
night, having drifted a distance of more than thirty- 
five miles. My two logs were an ample price for a 
night's lodging and breakfast and dinner the next 
day ; and I continued my voyage in a Mackinaw boat 
on the same day to Vide Pouche, a small French 
town about -twenty miles below, where my business 
required my presence. The wedding party proceeded 
undisturbed, and the danger they had been in was 
never made known to them, as I promised the war- 

* St. Louis. 



280 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



chief, who gave me, as the condition of my silence, 
the solemn promise that he would never carry his 
feelings of revenge upon innocent persons any farther. 

" Thus ends the story of ' floating down the Missis- 
sippi river on the two logs of wood/ which the war- 
chief alluded to in the question he put to me this 
evening. On a subsequent occasion, some two or 
three years afterwards, while sitting in the office of 
Governor Clark, the superintendent of Indian affairs 
in St. Louis, where he was holding ^a talk' with 
a party of Indians, a fine-looking fellow, of six feet 
or more in stature, fixed his eyes intently upon me, 
and, after scanning me closely for a few moments, 
advanced, and, seating himself on the floor by the 
side of me, pronounced the word ^Bobasheela,' and 
asked me if ever I had received an arrow from the 
quiver of an Indian warrior. The mutual recogni- 
tion took place by my acknowledging the fact, and a 
shake of the hand, and an amusing conversation 
about the circumstances, and still the facts and the 
amusement all kept to ourselves. This step led to 
the future familiarities of our lives in the various 
places where the nature of my business led me into 
his society, and gained for me the regular adoption 
as Bobasheela (or brother) and the badge (the she-she- 
quoin, or mystery rattle) alluded to in the previous 
remarks, and which, it has been already stated, was 
lost by the sinking of one of my boats on the Cum- 
berland river." 



REMARKABLE ESCAPE FRO:\I INDIANS. 281 



M,trr,z'±allz ^^fspa (torn Bs^ian^^ 

In the autumn of 1695 a party of Indians attacked 
the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and succeedec? 
in capturing two youths ; Isaac Bradley, aged fifteen 
years, and Joseph Whitaker, aged eleven. Without 
attempting further violence, the Indians quickly re- 
treated, passed through the adjoining forests, an« 
reached theu* tribes on the shores of Lake Winnepise- 
ogee. The prisoners were treated with kindness, and 
became members of a family in which were two or 
three Indian children. They soon learned the Indian 
language ; a circumstance which so pleased the tribe, 
that it was resolved to carry them to Canada in the 
ensuing spring. To the elder boy, who was of an 
active and enterprising disposition, this resolution was 
full of terror. Already a deep and unbroken wilder- 
ness, pathless mountains, and swollen rivers, lay be- 
tween him and home ; and should he and his com- 
panion be carried still further north, there was but 
little likelihood of their ever aeain reachino; home. 
Isaac determined to attempt an escape, before the re- 
turn of spring. Night and day, while apparently 
asleep, or while apparently cheerful in obeying the 
commands of his master, he adopted and rejected 
various plans, which might effect the wished-for pur- 
pose. Anxiety of mind brought on a raging fever, 
from which he narrowly escaped with life. The 
gloomy winter of a New England forest came on; 
month after month slowly glided aw^ay ; the spring 

36 2 A 2 



^82 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



returned, and still the two boys were prisoners. But 
the nearness of the dreaded calamity quickened the 
ingenuity of the captive youth ; he matured his plan 
and appointed a night in April for its execution. 

The attempt was made at midnight. Isaac lay 
awake until his Indian companions were sunk in 
sleep, and every thing was hushed around. He then 
arose and glanced timidly around. A thick darkness 
had settled on the face of nature, scattered only when 
the moon broke through the passing clouds. This 
attempt was a desperate one, and he felt it so ; but 
his spirit had been trained among those of the early 
settlers of Plymouth and Massachusetts. Stepping 
softly among his tawny bed-fellows, he secured his 
master's guns, moosemeat, and bread, which he carried 
to a neighbouring thicket of bushes. He then at- 
tempted to awake his companion, but with a success 
which convinced him that to persevere in the attempt 
would ruin his purpose. He therefore left the wig- 
wam and hurried to the place where were concealed 
the arms and provisions, but before he was able to 
reach it, he was alarmed by the noise of footsteps, 
and perceived that he was followed. It was by his 
fellow captive. They speedily secured their booty, 
and then, without chart or compass, struck into the 
woods in a southerly direction, aiming for the settle- 
ment of Haverhill. After running all night, they 
stopped at daylight near a hollow log, into which they 
both crept. 

Here, in the course of the morning, they were 
tracked by their master's dogs. Behind them the In- 



REMARKABLE ESCAPE FROM INDIANS. 283 



dians were in full pursuit. In this extremity the boys 
spoke kindly to the animals, which, knowing their 
voices, ceased to bark. They then threw to them 
some moosemeat, which the animals devoured greedily. 

The pursuers now arrived, but passed without 
noticing the dogs ; and at night Isaac and his com- 
panion left the log, and hurried away in another 
direction. After consuming their small stock of bread, 
they gathered roots and buds. Next day they again 
concealed themselves; but they travelled the third 
day and night without resting. In this manner they 
journeyed five days, living partly on roots and partly 
upon a pigeon and a turtle, which they were obliged 
to eat raw. On the sixth day, they struck into an 
Indian path, and followed it till night, when they 
suddenly came within sight of an encampment, with- 
in which a number of their enemies were seated 
round a fire. They precipitately retraced their steps, 
until, at the appearance of morning, they reached a 
small stream, by which they sat down. They were 
now in a pathless and seemingly interminable forest, 
surrounded by savages, hungry, destitute, and lacerated 
with thorns and rocks. It is no wonder that, under 
such circiunstances, these unhappy boys felt their 
hearts sink within them, as they leaned one upon the 
other, and mingled their tears with the ripples of the 
careless stream. 

Still the elder boy did not despair. Knowing that 
the stream must eventually lead to a large body of 
water, he encouraged his companion, and after refresh- 
ing themselves, both again pushed forward, following 



284 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the course of the rivulet. On the eighth morning 
J oseph lay down in despair. His limbs were mangled, 
his body was emaciated. Isaac begged him to pro- 
ceed ; he dug roots for him to eat, and brought water 
to quench his thirst. He represented the certainty 
of death, should he remain there. It was vain ; and 
leaving his companion to his fate, he, with weary steps 
and a bleeding heart, pursued his lonely journey. 
Suddenly he came in sight of a small building. In- 
spired by hope, he hurried to his companion, urged 
him to another trial, and rubbed his stiffened limbs 
until they could once more sustain their accustomed 
weight. They started together, Isaac sometimes lead- 
ing, sometimes carrying his companion; until, after 
toiling all day, they reached Saco Fort. 

This is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary 
escapes from Indians that we have on record. Dur- 
ing nine days, two youths, one scarcely emerged from 
childhood, had travelled through an immense forest, 
subsisting on a little bread, on buds and berries, and 
on a raw turtle and a pigeon, without seeing the face 
of a friend or warming themselves near a fire. When 
they arrived at Fort Saco, they were lacerated by 
thorns, exhausted by sickness, and emaciated to 
skeletons. "When Isaac regained his strength, he 
started for Haverhill, and arrived safely at his father's 
dwelling. Joseph had more to suffer. For a long 
time he lay at Saco, suffering under a raging fever. 
His father, when Isaac returned, went to the fort, and 
as soon as possible brought home his long lost son. 



MASSACRE AT MIMMS's FORT. 285 



J^aggam at l^immg'^ S^xt* 

The following account of tlie destruction of 
Mimms's Fort and the adjoining defences, by the 
Southern Indians, previous to their removal to the 
west, is extracted from the journals of the year 1813 : 

A few days before the attack, some negroes of Mr. 
McGirt's, who lived in that part of the Creek country 
inhabited by half-breeds, had been sent up the Ala- 
bama to his plantation for corn. Three of them were 
taken by a party of Indians. One escaped, and brought 
down news of the approach of the Indians. The 
officer gave but little credit to him, but they made 
some further preparation to receive the enemy. On 
the next day, Mr. James Cornels, a half-breed, and 
some white men, who had been out on the late battle 
ground, and discovered the trail of a considerable 
body of Indians going towards Mr. McGirt's, came to 
the fort and informed the commanding officer of their 
discovery. Though their report did not appear to re- 
ceive full credit, it occasioned greater exertions, and on 
Saturday and Sunday considerable work was done to 
put the fort in a state of defence. Sunday morning, 
three negroes were sent out to attend the cattle, who 
soon returned with an account that they had seen 
twenty Indians. Scouts were sent out to ascertain 
the truth of the report. They returned and declared 
that they could see no signs of Indians. One of the 
negroes belonging to Mr. Random was whipped for 
bringing what they deemed a false report. He was 



286 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



sent out again on Monday, and saw a body of Indians 
approaching, but, afraid of being whipped, he did not 
return to Mimms's, but to Pierce's fort ; but before his 
story could be communicated, the attack was made. 
The commanding officer called upon Mr. Fletcher, who 
owned another of the negroes, to whip him also. He 
believed the boy, and resisted two or three applications; 
but at length they had him actually brought out for 
the purpose, when the Indians appeared in view of 
the fort. The gate was open. The Indians had to 
come through an open field a hundred and fifty yards 
wide before they could reach the fort, and yet they 
were within thirty steps of the fort at eleven o'clock in 
the morning, before they were noticed. The sentry 
then gave the cry of " Indians !" and they immedi- 
ately set up a most terrible war-whoop, and rushed 
into the gate with inconceivable rapidity, and got 
within it before the people of the fort had any oppor- 
tunity of shutting it. This decided their fate. Major 
Beasly was shot through the belly, near the gate. He 
called to the men to take care of the ammunition and 
to retreat to the house. He went himself to a kitchen, 
where it is supposed he must have been burnt 

The fort was originally square. Major Beasly had 
it enlarged, by extending the lines of two sides about 
fifty feet and putting up a new side, into which the 
gate was removed. The old line of pickets stood, and 
the Indians, upon rushing into the gate, obtained 
possession of this additional part, and through the 
port-holes of the old line of pickets fired on the peo- 
ple who held the interior. On the opposite side of the 



MASSACRE AT MIMMS's FORT. 289 

fort, an offset or bastion was made round the back 
gate, whicli, being open on the outside, was also taken 
possession of by the Indians, who, with the axes which 
lay scattered about, immediately began to cut down 
the gate. There was a large body of Indians, though 
they did not probably exceed four hundred. Our 
people seemed to sustain the attack with undaunted 
spirit. They took possession of the port-holes in the 
other lines of the fort, and fired on the Indians who 
remained in the field. Some of the Indians got on 
the block-house at one of the corners, but after firing 
a good deal down upon the people, they were dis- 
lodged ; they succeeded, however, in setting fire to a 
house near the pickets, from which it was communi- 
cated to the kitchen, and from thence to the main 
dwelling-house. They attempted to do it with burnv 
ing arrows, but failed. When the people of the fort 
saw that the Indians retained full possession of the 
outer court, that the gate continued open, that their 
men fell very fast, and that their houses were in 
flames, they began to despond. Some determined to 
cut their way through the pickets and escape. 

Of the number of white men and half-breeds in the 
fort, it is supposed that not more than twenty-five or 
thirty escaped, and of these many were wounded : 
the rest, and almost all the women and children, fell 
a sacrifice either to the arms of the Indians or the 
flames. The battle terminated about an hour or an 
hour and a half before sunset. 



37 



2B 



290 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



The Mexican war afforded the Camanche Indians 
favourable opportunities to capture or destroy portions 
of the American trains, that followed in the rear of 
our different armies. Sometimes small parties of vo- 
lunteers or adventurers encountered some of the Ca- 
manche bands, and, though generally successful, not 
unfrequently met with considerable loss. The famous 
guerilla warfare," so dreaded in the civil contentions 
of Mexico, was in part sustained by half-civilized, 
half-savage Camanches, who, armed with lasso, gun, 
and tomahawk, and accompanied by white men, half- 
savage, half-civilized like themselves, spread terror 
and desolation wherever they came. It was reserved 
for the American volunteer to dissolve the halo of 
fear which had so long hung over the name of Ca- 
manche, and to prove to the world that he was not 
invincible. 

At daylight of July 26th, 1847, a party of Ameri- 
cans on the Arkansas river, three hundred miles from 
Fort Leavenworth, was attacked by the Camanches. 
The party were escorting a large government train. 
The dragoons, being mounted, made a vigorous 
charge, the infantry, with a few horsemen, remaining 
to guard the camp. A desperate struggle ensued, in 
which three hundred Camanches exerted every effort 
of savage strength and ingenuity to surround a little 
band of opponents, whom they outnumbered six to 
one. Five of the Americans were killed, three 



DEATH OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 



291 



severely wounded, two slightly, and one hundred and 
thirty-five yoke of cattle driven off or butchered. The 
loss of the Indians was not ascertained, as they car- 
ried off their dead and wounded. In one week, this 
band of Camanches, assisted by rancheros and gue- 
rillas from northern Mexico, destroyed United States 
property to the amount of ten thousand dollars. 



The trading parties between Independence and 
Santa Fe are frequently attacked by Indians, more, 
it would seem, from a thirst for plunder than from 
cruelty or revenge. Some instances of the latter kind 
are, however, on record ; and one of these, the mur- 
der of the trader Captain Smith, was long remembered 
by the border men as an inducement to revenge. 
Smith had long been known as a Kocky mountain 
hunter, and his feats of daring in the great western 
wilderness formed subjects for admiration and asto- 
nishment to many a forlorn "trapping" party, as it 
pursued its way over the prairies. In 1831, he joined 
a company under Captain Sublette, destined for Santa 
Fe. Each man of this company appears to have been 
profoundly ignorant of the route, and of the hard- 
ships to be encountered in a long journey through 
the deserts of New Mexico. After many days tra- 
velling, they seem to have lost their road ; their water 
was exhausted, and around them was an arid waste, 



292 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



destitute of both stream and vegetation. In this 
dreadful condition, Smith left the party and followed 
& buffalo track, with the hope of thereby arriving at 
some brook or pond. For many miles he fearlessly 
pursued his way, until what he imagined to be a small 
stream broke upon his sight. He hurried forward as 
fast as his weakened condition would admit, but on 
reaching the bank, he found nothing but a dry, sandy 
bed, whose reflections glared intolerably upon his be- 
wildered vision. Unable to bear his raging thirst 
any longer, he threw himself into the channel and 
scooped up the sand with his hands. As he dug 
deeper, it seemed to get moist, and at the distance of 
more than a foot below the surface, water began to 
ooze gradually through the sand. He sunk his face 
into it, and sucked the grateful liquid from the ground. 
He had escaped one mode of death only to die by 
another. A party of Camanches had followed his 
track, and, seizing the moment when he was thus un- 
guarded, they discharged a flight of arrows upon him 
and rushed to closer conflict. Smith fought despe- 
rately, killing two or three of his enemies ; but was 
at length overpowered and killed. 



The Eutaw or Yuta Indians inhabit the north- 
western part of New Mexico and California. They 
are renowned for bravery and for their custom of mi- 
grating in large parties, especially during the spring 



ADVENTURE WITH THE YUTAS. 293 

and fall. They are almost constantly at war with 
some of the neighbouring tribes, and, when unsuccess- 
ful, will often gratify their vindictive feelings upon 
parties of the whites. A case of this nature occurred 
in 1837. A considerable number of the Yutas en- 
countered half a dozen Shawnees, near the head 
waters of the Arkansas. The Shawnees had come 
upon a friendly visit ; but the Yutas soon contrived 
to quarrel with them, and finally made a charge. The 
Shawnees boldly gathered around their goods, dis- 
charged their arrows upon the enemy, and succeeded 
in effecting their escape without loss. Several of the 
aggressors were killed. 

Immediately after this affair, a party of about 
thirty-five traders, under Mr. Josiah Gregg, arrived 
near the battle-ground. On halting, in order to pass 
the night, they were surprised at seeing a large num- 
ber of Indians enter their camp and move freely with 
themselves to every position. They were the de- 
feated Yutas, who, incensed at their late discomfiture, 
were now prepared to perform any outrage upon 
friend or foe. Suddenly a young chief sprang upon 
a horse belonging to one of the traders, and galloped 
off at full speed. Gregg's force was too small to en- 
gage the Indians, but he resolved to present a bold 
front, and accordingly demanded, in peremptory lan- 
guage, the restoration of the horse. Its effect disap- 
pointed him. The Indians laughed at the message, 
and, gathering in small groups, frowned contemptu- 
ously upon their opponents. Gregg then declared his 
determination to obtain redress by force. The In- 

2 b2 



294 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



dians immediately grasped their arms, uttered the 
war-whoop, and sprang upon their horses. Their 
valour was accompanied with due caution. The wo- 
men and children were removed to an adjoining 
precipice, and the warriors collected in order of battle. 
By this time they had observed that a part of the 
trading force were Mexicans ; and with true Indian 
cunning they prepared to take advantage of it. A 
young warrior left his ranks and riding up to within 
a short distance, exhorted his " Mexican friends" to 
desert the Americans. This was accompanied with 
the assurance that they should be well treated, while 
to the Americans no quarter was to be shown. The 
Mexicans treated the invitation with scorn, and both 
parties now prepared for a struggle. During the 
preliminary season of suspense, an aged squaw un- 
expectedly rode up, and addressing the chiefs exhorted 
them to remember the ties of friendship existing be- 
tween the Yutas and the Americans, and to reject 
the council of a few impetuous youths, who were 
clamorous for war. This strange mediation was fa- 
vourably received ; both parties relaxed their military 
bearing; the stolen horse was restored, and the adven- 
ture terminated by a social smoke between the traders 
and their strangely acquired friends. 



HUNTING THE BUFFALO BY STRATAGEM. 297 



The western territories, especially the portions 
near the Eocky Mountains, abound in wolves, of 
which the most numerous and formidable is a white 
species, which attains a great size, and is considered 
a good match for the largest dog. These animals 
prowl about in flocks of fifty or sixty, attacking any 
solitary animal that may fall within their reach. The 
buJQfalo is their favourite prey ; and they always fol- 
low in the hunter's track to glean what he leaves, 
or to kill some unfortunate bull, which may chance 
to secrete himself from man. But, when the buffa- 
loes are herded together, they have little fear of the 
wolf, and will permit him to approach very near 
them. Of this sense of security the Indian hunter 
frequently takes advantage. Covering himself with 
a white wolf's skin, he creeps across the prairie, and 
discharges his arrows among the unsuspecting herd 
with fatal effect. Of course, the fattest and most 
tender are selected on these occasions ; and some- 
times a warrior will destroy as great a number in this 
manner as when engaged with the whole tribe in the 
chase. The method may remind the reader of the 
manner in which the negroes of southern and western 
Africa hunt and destroy the ostrich. 

Another equally effective method of hunting the 
buffalo is, by driving him into snow banks in the 
winter season. In these regions, the snow is often 
three or four feet deep, being blown from the tops and 

38 



298 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



sides of hills. At sucli times, the buffaloes assemble 
on the hill tops ; but, on being attacked, they rush 
down and endeavour to pass through the snow, but 
sink in it to their flanks. Here they fall an easy 
prey to the hunter, who, on his snow shoes, ghdes 
with ease and celerity over the glazed crust of snow. 
The buffalo's skin is in winter much esteemed on ac- 
count of its long fur ; but, with improvident thought- 
lessness, the carcass is left to be eaten by the wolves. 



Among a party of j'oung men who formed them- 
selves into a little corps called Eangers, expressly for 
the protection of the western frontier, was one named 
Tom Higgins. He was a native of Kentucky, and a 
capital specimen of the genuine backwoodsman. In 
the month of August, he was one of a party of twelve 
men who were posted at a small stockade between 
Greenville and Yandalia. These towns were not 
then in existence, and the surrounding country was 
one vast wilderness. On the 30th of the month, In- 
dians were observed in the neighbourhood, and at 
night they were discovered prowling around the 
fort, but no alarm was given. 

Early on the following morning, the lieutenant 
moved out with his little party mounted on horse- 
back to reconnoitre the Indians. Passing round the 
fence of a corn-field adjoining the fort, they struck 



WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF TO:\I HIGGIXS. 299 



across the prairie, and had not proceeded more than 
a quarter of a mile, when, in crossing a small ridge, 
which was covered with a hazel thicket, in full view 
of the station, they fell into an ambuscade of Indians, 
who rose suddenly around them to the number of 
seventy or eighty, and fired. Four of the party were 
killed, among whom was the heutenant; one other 
fell, badly wounded, and the rest fled, except Hig- 
gins. 

It was a sultry morning, the day was just dawn- 
ing, a heavy dew had fallen during the night, the air 
was still and damp, and the smoke from the guns 
hung in a cloud over the spot. Under cover of this 
cloud, Higgins's companions had escaped, supposing all 
who were left to be dead. Higgins's horse had been 
shot through the neck, and fell on its knees, but rose 
again. Believing the animal to be mortally wounded, 
he dismounted, but, finding that the wound had not 
disabled him, he continued to hold the bridle, for he 
now felt confident of being able to make good his 
retreat. Yet, before he did this, he wished, as he 
said, " to have one pull at the enemy." 

For this purpose he looked round for a tree, from 
behind which he might fire in safety. There was 
but one, and that was a small elm; but, before he 
could reach it, the cloud of smoke, partially rising, 
disclosed to his view a number of Indians, none of 
whom, however, discovered him. One of them stood 
within a few paces of him, loading his gun ; at him 
Higgins took a deliberate aim, fired, and the Indian 
fell. Still concealed by the smoke, Higgins reloaded 



300 



THRILLIXG ADVENTURES. 



his gun, mounted his horse, and turned to fly, when 
a low voice near him hailed him with, 
Tom, you won't leave me ?" 

On looking round, he discovered one of his com- 
rades, named Burgess, who was lying wounded on 
the ground, and he instantly repHed, ^"Xo, I'll not 
leave you, come along, and I'll take care of you." 

I can't come," replied Burgess, my leg is smashed 
all to pieces." 

Higgins sprang from his saddle, and, taking his 
companion in his arms, proceeded to hft him on his 
horse, telling him to fly for his life, and that he would 
make his own way on foot. But the horse, taking 
fright at this instant, darted off, leaving Higgins with 
his wounded friend on foot. Still the cool bravery 
of the former was sufficient for every emergency, and, 
setting Burgess gently down, he told him, Xow, 
my good fellow, you must hop off on your three legs, 
while I stay between you and the Indians to keep 
them off," instructing him, at the same time, to get 
into the highest grass, and crawl as close to the 
ground as possible. Burgess followed his advice, and 
escaped unnoticed. 

History does not record a more disinterested act 
of heroism than this of Tom Higgins, who, having in 
his hands the certain means of escape from such im- 
minent peril, voluntarily gave them up, by offering 
his horse to a wounded companion; and who, when 
that generous intention was defeated, and his own 
retreat was still practicable, remained, at the hazard 
of his life, to protect his crippled friend. 



WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF TOM HIGGINS. 301 

The cloud of smoke, which had partially opened 
before him as he faced the enemy, still lay thick be- 
hind him ] and, as he plunged through this, he left it, 
together with the ridge and hazel thicket, between 
him and the main body of the Indians, and was re- 
tiring, unobserved by them. Under these circum- 
stances, it is probable, that, if he had retreated in a 
direct line towards the station, he might have easily 
effected his escape. But Burgess was slowly crawl- 
ing away in that direction, and the gallant Higgins 
foresaw, that, if he pursued the same track, and 
should be discovered, his friend would be endangered. 
He, therefore, resolved to deviate from his course so 
far, as that any of the enemy who should follow him 
would not fall in with Burgess. With this intention, 
he moved warily along through the smoke and 
bushes, hoping, when he emerged, to retreat at full 
speed. But, just as he left the thicket, he beheld a 
large Indian near him, and two more on the other 
side, in the direction of the fort. 

Confident in his own courage and activity, Tom 
felt undismayed ; but, like a good general, he deter- 
mined to separate the foe and fight them singly. 
Making for a ravine not far off, he bounded away ; 
but soon found that one of his limbs failed him, hav- 
ing received a ball in the first fire, which until now 
he had hardly noticed. 

The largest Indian was following him closely. 
Higgins several times turned to fire ; but the Indian 
would halt and dance about to prevent him from tak- 
ing aim, and Tom knew that he could not afford to 

2C 



802 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



fire at random. The other two were closing on him, 
and he found that, unless he could dispose of the 
first, he must be overpowered. He therefore halted, 
and resolved to receive a fire. The Indian, at a few 
paces distant, raised his rifle. Higgins watched his 
adversary's eye, and, just as he thought his finger 
pressed the trigger, suddenly turned his side towards 
him. It is probable that this motion saved his life, 
for the ball entered his thigh, which otherwise would 
have pierced his body. 

Tom fell, but rose again and ran; the largest In- 
dian, certain of his prey, loaded again, and then, with 
the two others, pursued. Higgins had again fallen, 
and, as he rose, they all three fired, and he received all 
their halls! 

He now fell and rose several times, and the In- 
dians, throwing away their rifles, advanced on him 
with spears and knives. They repeatedly charged 
upon him ; but, upon his presenting his gun at one 
or the other, they fell back, till at last the largest of 
them, thinking, probably, from Tom's reserving his 
fire so long, that his gun was empty, attacked him 
boldly, when Higgins, taking a steady aim, shot him 
dead. With four bullets in his body, with an empty 
gun, with two Indians before him and a whole tribe 
a few rods ofi", almost any other man would have de- 
spaired. But Tom Higgins had no such notion ! He 
had slain the most dangerous of his foes, and he felt 
but little fear of the others. He, therefore, faced 
them, and began to load his rifle. They raised a 
whoop and rushed on him. 



V 



WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF TOM HIGGINS. SOS 

" They kept their distance as long as my rifle was 
loaded," said he; "but when they knew it was empty, 
they were better soldiers." 

A fierce and bloody conflict ensued. The Indians 
stabbed him in many places ; but it happened, fortu- 
nately for Tom, that the shafts of their spears were 
thin poles, which had been hastily prepared for the 
occasion, and which bent whenever the points struck 
a rib, or encountered one of his tough muscles. From 
this cause, and the continued exertion of his hands 
in warding off their thrusts, the wounds they made 
were not deep. His whole front, however, was co- 
vered with gashes, of which the scars yet remain in 
proof of his valour. 

One of them now drew his tomahawk. The edge 
sunk deep into Higgins's cheek — passed through his 
ear — laid bare his skull to the back of his head, and 
stretched him on the plain. The two Indians rushed 
on ; but Tom, instantly recovering his self-possession, 
kept them off with his feet and hands. At length 
he succeeded in grasping one of their spears, which, 
as the Indian endeavoured to pull it from him, helped 
him to rise. Now, holding his rifle like a club, he 
rushed on the nearest of his foes and dashed his 
brains out, in doing which he broke the stock to 
pieces, and retained only the barrel in his hand. 

The remaining Indian, though wounded, was now 
by far the most powerful man ; but though our hero's 
strength was rapidly failing, his courage was not ex- 
hausted, and the savage began to retreat towards the 
place where he had dropped his rifle. Tom in the 



304 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



meanwhile searched for the gun of the other Indian. 
Thus bothj though bleeding and out of breath, were 
in search of arms to renew the combat. 

By this time the smoke, which hung between the 
combatants and the main body of Indians, had passed 
away, and a number of the latter having crossed the 
hazel thicket were in full view. It seemed, therefore, 
that nothing could save our valiant ranger; but 
relief was at hand. 

The little garrison at the fort had witnessed the 
whole of this remarkable combat. They were only 
six in number, and among them was one heroic wo- 
man — a Mrs. Pursley. When she saw Higgins con- 
tending singly with the foe, she urged the men to go 
to his rescue ; but the rangers objected, as the Indians 
outnumbered them ten to one. Mrs. Pursley declared 
that so fine a fellow as Tom should not be lost for 
want of help, and, snatching a rifle out of her hus- 
band's hand, she jumped on a horse and sallied out ; 
while the men, ashamed to be outdone by a woman, 
followed at full gallop towards the place of combat. 

A scene of intense interest ensued. The Indians 
at the thicket had just discovered Tom, and were ad- 
vancing toward him with savage yells ; his friends 
were spurring their horses to reach him first. Hig- 
gins, exhausted from loss of blood, had fallen and 
fainted ; his adversary, too intent on his prey to ob- 
serve any thing else, was looking for his rifle. 

The rangers reached the battle-ground first. Mrs. 
Pursley rode up to Tom and offered him her gun ; 
but Tom was past shooting. His friends lifted him 



WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF TOM HIGGINS. 305 

up, threw him across a horse before one of the party, 
and turned to retreat just as the Indians came up. 
They made good their escape, and the Indians retired 
to the woods. 

After being carried into the fort, Tom remained 
insensible for some days. His life was preserved 
only by extreme and continued care. His friends 
extracted all the balls except two, which remained in 
his thigh. One of these gave him great pain at 
times for several years, although the flesh was healed. 
At length he heard that a skilful physician had set- 
tled within a day's ride of him, and Tom determined 
to go and see if he could help him. 

The physician willingly undertook to extract the 
bullet; but on condition that he should receive the 
exorbitant sum of fifty dollars for the operation. 
This Tom flatly refused to give, as it was more than 
half a year's pension. When he reached home, he 
found that the exercise of riding had so much 
chafed the part that the ball, which usually was not 
discoverable to the touch, could now be plainly felt. 

He requested his wife to hand him a razor. With 
her assistance, he deliberately laid open his thigh 
until the edge of the razor touched the bullet. Then 
inserting both his thumbs into the cut, he flirted it 
out,'' as he said, " without costing a cent!' 

The other ball remains in his limb yet ; but gives 
him no trouble except when he uses violent exercise. 
He is now one of the most successful hunters in the 
country, and it still takes the hest Jcind of a man to 
handle him. 

39 2 c2 



306 



THRILLING ADVENIURES. 



The Crow and Sioux Indians, like most tribes who 
subsist by hunting, are obliged to move frequently 
from place to place ; and the manner in which they per- 
form one of the migrations is both singular and amus- 
ing. The appointment of the time of starting is left 
in a great measure to the chief. A few hours before it 
arrives, he sends criers through the village, announcing 
his determination to move, and at the same time places 
the signal, always observed on such occasions, at his 
wigwam. The whole village is now in commotion. 
Provisions, household goods, and clothing are bundled 
together ; dogs and horses are yoked to burdens twice 
their own size ; children are slung in sacks, and placed 
on their mothers' backs; and each one is speedily 
loaded with the burden, never a very inconsiderable 
one, which he is to bear to the new settlement. The 
usual order of arrangement is as follows : — The poles 
of a lodge are divided into two bunches. The little 
ends of each bunch are fastened upon the shoulders 
of a horse, leaving the other ends to drag upon the 
ground on each side. Behind the horse a cross-piece 
connects the bunches and keeps them in their place. 
On the bunches are placed the lodge or tent rolled up, 
sundry huge articles of household stuffs, and three or 
four women and children. To lead each horse, which, 
under the circumstances, would appear absolutely ne- 
cessary, a woman goes before holding the bridle, and 
carrying on her shoulders a load similar in size to that 



THE murderer's CREEK. 



309 



of the horse. Occasionally the animal carries another 
woman upon his back, in whose arms is a young pa- 
poose affectionately embracing a favourite dog. In 
this manner, five or six hundred wigwams, with all 
their furniture, are moved many miles at once. The 
cavalcade is drawn out to an immense distance, the 
men mounted on good horses, numbering more than 
a thousand, and the number of canine assistants at 
least five times that number. Each dog has to bear 
part of the general burden. Two poles about fifteen 
feet long are placed upon his shoulders, in the same 
manner as the lodge poles are attached to the horses, 
leaving the larger ends to drag upon the ground be- 
hind him. On these is placed a bundle, with which 
he trots off, keeping up with the caravan until night, 
and only stopping when there seems prospect of a 
battle with some of his companions. 



There is a little stream which runs into that most 
beautiful of all rivers, the noble Hudson, that still 
bears the name of the Murderers CreeJc, though few 
perhaps can tell why it was so called. About a cen- 
tury ago, the beautiful region watered by this stream 
was possessed by a small tribe of Indians, which has 
long since become extinct, or incorporated with some 
more powerful nation of the west. Three or four hun- 
dred yards from the mouth of this little river, a white 



810 



THRILLING APVEXTrRES. 



family of the name of Stacey had established it-self 
in a log-house, by tacit permission of the tribe, to 
whom Stacey had made himself useful by his skill in 
a variety of arts highly estimated by the saA'ages. In 
particular a friendship subsisted between him and an 
old Indian, called Xaoman. who often came to his 
house, and partook of his hospitality. The family 
consisted of Stacey. his wife, and two children, a boy 
and a girl, the foiiner five, and the latter three years 
old. 

The Indians never forgive injuries nor forget 
benefits. 

One day Xaoman came to Stacey's log-house in hi.s 
absence, lighted his pipe and sat down. He looked 
unusually serious, sometimes sighed deeply, but said 
not a word. Stacey's wife asked him what was the 
matter. — if he were ill ? He shook his head, but 
said nothin2\ and soon went awav. The next dav he 
came, and behaved in the same manner. Stacey's wife 
began to think there was something strange in all 
this, and acquainted her husband with the matter as 
soon as he came home. He advised her to mge the 
old man to explain his conduct, in case he should 
come again, which he did the following day. After 
much importunity, the old Indian at last replied to 
her questions in this manner. ••' I am a red man, and 
the pale faces are our enemies : why should I speak?" 

But my husband and I are your friends : you have 
eaten bread with us a hundred times, and my chil- 
dren have sat on your knees as often. If you have 
any thing on your mind, tell it me now." •'• It will 



THE murderer's CREEK. 



311 



cost me my life if it is known, and you white-faced 
women are not good at keeping secrets," replied Nao- 
man. " Try me, and you will find that I can," said 
she. " Will you swear by the Great Spirit that you 
will tell none but your husband ?" " I have no one 
else to tell." " But will you swear ?" " I do swear 
by our Great Spirit, that I will tell none but my hus- 
band." " Not if my tribe should kill you for not 
telling ?" " No, not though your tribe should kill me 
for not telling." Naoman then proceeded to tell her, 
that owing to the frequent encroachments of the white 
people on their land at the foot of the mountains, his 
tribe had become exceedingly angry, and were resolved 
that night to massacre all the white settlers within 
their reach ; that she must send for her husband, and 
inform him of the danger, and as secretly and speedily 
as possible, take their canoe, and paddle with all 
haste over the river to Fishkill for safety. " Be quick, 
and cause no suspicion," said Naoman, as he departed. 

The good wife instantly sought her husband, who 
was down on the river fishing, told him the story, and 
as no time was to be lost, they proceeded to their 
boat, which was unluckily filled with water. It took 
some time to clear it out ; and meanwhile Stacey re- 
collected his gun, which he had left behind. He went 
to his house and returned with it. All this took a 
considerable time, and precious time it proved to this 
poor family. 

The daily visits of Naoman, and his more than 
ordinary gravity, had excited suspicion in some of his 
tribe, who therefore now paid particular attention to 



312 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the movements of Stacey. One of the young Indians 
who had been kept on the watch, seeing the whole 
family about to take the boat, ran to the little Indian 
village, about a mile off, and gave the alarm. 

Five stout Indians immediately collected, and ran 
down to the river, where their canoes were moored, 
jumped in, and paddled after Stacey, who by this time 
had got some distance out into the stream. They 
gained upon him so fast, that twice he dropped his 
paddle and took up his gun. But his wife prevented 
his shooting, by telling him that if he fired, and they 
were afterwards overtaken, they would meet with no 
mercy from the Indians. He accordingly refrained, 
and plied his paddle, till the sweat rolled in big drops 
down his forehead. All would not do; they were 
overtaken within a hundred yards from the opposite 
shore, and carried back with shouts and yells of 
triumph. 

The first thing the Indians did when they got 
ashore, was to set fire to Stacey's house. They then 
dragged him, his wife and children, to their village. 
Here the principal old men, and Naoman among 
them, assembled to deliberate on the affair. The chief 
men of the council expressed their opinion that some 
of the tribe had been guilty of treason, in apprizing 
Stacey, the white man, of their designs, whereby they 
took alarm, and had weUnigh escaped. They pro- 
posed that the prisoners should be examined in order 
to discover who was the traitor. The old men as- 
sented to this, and one of them who spoke English 
began by interrogating Stacey, and interpreted what 



THE murderer's CREEK. 



313 



was said to the others. Stacey refused to betray his 
informant. His wife was then questioned, while two 
Indians stood threatening the children with their 
tomahawks, in case she did not confess. 

She attempted to evade the truth, by pretending 
that she had a dream the night before, which had 
warned her to fly, and that she had persuaded her 
husband to do so. The Great Spirit never deigns 
to talk in dreams to the white faces," said one of the 
old Indians. " Woman, thou hast two tongues and 
two faces; speak the truth, or thy children shall 
surely die." The little boy and girl were then brought 
close to her, and the two savages stood over them 
ready to execute their cruel orders. 

" Wilt thou name that red man," said the old In- 
dian, " who betrayed his tribe ? I will ask thee three 
times." The mother made no answer. " Wilt thou 
name the traitor ? This is the second time." The 
poor woman looked at her husband, and then at her 
children, and stole a glance at Naoman, who sat 
smoking his pipe with invincible gravity. She wrung 
her hands and wept, but remained silent. "Wilt 
thou name the traitor ? I ask you for the third and 
last time." The agony of the mother was more and 
more intense : again she sought the eye of Naoman, 
but it was cold and motionless. A moment's delay 
was made for her reply. She was silent. The toma- 
hawks were raised over the heads of her children, who 
besought their mother to release them. 

" Stop," cried Naoman. All eyes were instantly 
turned upon him. " Stop," repeated he, in a tone of 

40 2D 



814 



THRILLIXG ADVENTURES. 



authority. ^' White woman, thou hast kept thy word 
with me to the last moment. Chiefs. I am the 
traitor. I have eaten the bread, warmed myself at 
the fire, and shared the kindness of these Christian 
white people, and it was I who told them of their 
danger. I am a withered, leafless, branchless trunk ; 
cut me down if you will : I am ready to fall." 

A Tell of indication resounded on all sides. Nao- 
man descended from the httle bank of earth on which 
he sat, shrouded his dark countenance in his buffalo 
robe, and calmly awaited his fate. He fell dead at 
the feet of the white woman, by the blow of the 
tomahawk. 

But the sacrifice of Xaoman, and the heroic firm- 
ness of the Christian white woman, did not suffice to 
save the lives of the other victims. They perished — 
how. it is needless to say ; but the memory of their 
fate has been preserved in the name of the beautiful 
little stream on whose banks they Hved and died, 
which to this day is called the Murderer b CreeJc. 



The scalp-dance, says Mr. Catlin, is given as a cele- 
bration of a victory : and amons: the Sioux, as I learned 
while residing with them, danced in the night, by the 
light of their torches, and just before retiring to bed. 
When a war-party returns from a war excursion, bring- 
ing home with them the scalps of their enemies, they 



THE SCALP-DANCE. 



817 



generally " dance them" for fifteen nights in succes- 
sion, vaunting forth the most extravagant boasts of 
their wonderful prowess in war, while they brandish 
their war weapons in their hands. A number of 
young women are selected to aid (though they do 
not actually join in the dance) by stepping into the 
centre of the ring, and holding up the scalps that 
have been recently taken, while the warriors dance 
(or YSither j'lwip) around in a circle, brandishing their 
weapons, and barking and yelping in the most fright- 
ful manner, all jumping on both feet at a time, with 
a simultaneous stamp and blow, and thrust of their 
weapons, with which it would seem as if they were 
actually cutting and carving each other to pieces. 
During these frantic leaps, and yelps, and thrusts, 
every man distorts his face to the utmost of his mus- 
cles, darting about his glaring eyeballs and snapping 
his teeth, as if he were in the heat, and actually 
breathing through his inflated nostrils the very hiss- 
ing death, of battle ! No description that can be 
written could ever convey more than a feeble outline 
of the frightful effect of these scenes enacted in the 
dead and darkness of night, under the glaring light 
of their blazing flambeaux ; nor could all the years 
allotted to mortal man in the least obliterate or de- 
face the vivid impress that one scene of this kind 
would leave upon his memory. 

The precise object for which the scalp is taken is 
one which is definitely understood, and has already 
been explained ; but the motive, or motives, for 
which this strict ceremony is so scrupulously held, 

2d 2 



518 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



by all the American tribes over the scalp of an ene- 
my, is a subject as yet not satisfactorily settled in my 
mind. There is no doubt but one great object in 
these exhibitions is public exultation ; yet there are 
several conclusive evidences that there are other and 
essential motives for thus formally and strictly dis- 
playing the scalp. Among some of the tribes, it is 
the custom to bury the scalps after they have gone 
through this series of public exhibitions, which may 
in a measure have been held for the purpose of giv- 
ing them notoriety, and of awarding public credit to 
the persons who obtained them, and now, from a cus- 
tom of the tribe, are obliged to part with them. The 
great respect which seems to be paid to them while 
they use them, as well as the pitying and mournful 
song which they howl to the manes of their unfortu- 
nate victims, as well as the precise care and solemnity 
with which they afterwards bury the scalps, suffi- 
ciently convince me that they have a superstitious 
dread of the spirits of their slain enemies, and many 
conciliatory offices to perform to ensure their own 
peace — one of which is the ceremony above described. 



The life of an Indian woman, even though she 
may be the favourite wife of a great chief, is always 
fraught with toil and drudgery. The men will go 
through great fatigue in war or in hunting, but any 



ADVENTURES OF AN INDIAN WOMAN. 319 

thing like regular work they scorn. Scooping out 
canoes, building their huts, dressing the skins of ani- 
mals, and cultivating the earth, are labours which 
fall to the lot of the squaw ; but, what is still worse, 
they are obliged to carry all the heavy burdens with- 
out any assistance from their husbands. An Indian 
hunter, setting out in the morning before sunrise, tra- 
verses the country for many miles in search of deer, 
and, as he goes along, he once in a while breaks down 
a bush to serve as a mark for his wife, whose business 
it is to find the game he has killed and carry it home, 
and, as the animals sometimes lie at a great distance 
from each other, and she can carry but one at a time, 
the toil she then encounters is truly grievous. 

In fishing and snaring birds, the women are very 
successful, and, uniting much art with insurmounta- 
ble patience, they catch great numbers of geese and 
ducks, which migrate to the lakes at certain seasons 
of the year. To snare these birds in their nests re- 
quires a considerable degree of art, and, as the na- 
tives say, a great deal of cleanliness ; for they have 
observed that, when the snares have been set by 
those whose hands were not clean, the birds would 
not go into the nest. 

Even the goose, though so simple a bird, is noto- 
riously known to forsake her eggs, if they have been 
breathed on by the Indians. 

The smaller species of birds, which make their 
nests on the ground, are by no means so delicate, 
and of course less care is necessary in snaring them. 
It has been observed that all birds which build on the 



320 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ground, go into their nest on one particular side, and 
out of it on the opposite. The Indians, being accu- 
rate observers of nature, are well aware of this fact, 
and always set their snares on the side on which the 
bird enters the nest ; and, if care be taken in setting 
them, seldom fail of seizing their object. For small 
birds, such as larks and many others of equal size, 
the Indians generally use two or three of the long 
hairs out of their own head ; but for larger birds, par- 
ticularly swans, geese, and ducks, they make snares 
of deer sinews, twisted like pack-thread, and occa- 
sionally of a small thong cut from a dressed deer- 
skin. 

We may believe that women so trained are not 
very delicate, or easily daunted by any diflBculties 
that may befall them ; and, in proof of this, I will 
relate an anecdote as it was told by an English gen- 
tleman who travelled among the northern Indians 
many years ago :— 

On the 11th of January, as some of my compa- 
nions were hunting, they observed the track of a 
strange snow-shoe,* which they followed, and at a 
considerable distance came to a little hut, where they 
discovered a young woman sitting alone. As they 
found she understood their language, they brought 

* Snow-slioes are from tliree to four feet in length, and more than 
a foot wide in the middle ; they are sharp-pointed at both endS; the 
frames are made of birch-bark, and they are netted cross and cross 
with thongs of deer-skin, leaving a hole just big enough to admit the 
foot. These shoes, being large and light, enable the Indians to 
travel over the snow with great facility 



ADVENTURES OF AN INDIAN WOMAN. 321 



her Tvith them to our tents. On examination, she 
proved to be one of the western Dog-ribbed Indians, 
who had been taken prisoner by the Athapuscow In- 
dians two summers ago, and last summer, when the 
Indians that took her prisoner were near this part, 
she escaped from them, with the intention of return- 
ing to her own country; but the distance being so 
great, and having, after she was taken prisoner, been 
carried in a canoe the whole way, the turnings and 
windings of the rivers and lakes were so numerous, 
that she forgot the track; so she built the hut in 
which we found her, to protect her from the weather 
during the winter, and here she had resided ever 
since the beginning of autumn. 

From her account of the moons past since her 
elopement, it appeared that she had been nearly seven 
months without seeing a human face ; during all 
which time she had supported herself very well by 
snaring partridges, rabbits, and squirrels; she had 
also killed two or three beavers and some porcupines. 
That she did not seem to have been in want is evident, 
as she had a small stock of provisions by her when she 
was discovered. She was also in good health and con- 
dition, and was certainly by far the finest looking 
Indian woman that I have ever seen in any part of 
America. 

The methods practised by this poor creature to pro- 
cure a livelihood were truly admirable, proving in- 
deed the truth of the old proverb, that " necessity is 
the mother of invention." When the few deer sinews 
that she had an opportunity of taking with her were 

41 



322 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



all expended in making snares and sewing her cloth- 
ing, she had nothing to supply their place but the 
sinews of the rabbits' legs and feet ; these she twisted 
together with great dexterity and success. The rab- 
bits and squirrels which she caught in her snares, not 
only furnished her with a comfortable subsistence, 
but of the skins she made a suit of neat and warm 
clothing for the winter. 

It is scarcely possible to conceive that a person in 
her forlorn situation could be so composed as to be 
capable of contriving or executing any thing that was 
not absolutely necessary to her existence ; but there 
were sufficient proofs that she had extended her care 
much further, as all her clothing, besides being calcu- 
lated for real service, showed great taste, and exhi- 
bited no little variety of ornament. The materials, 
though rude, were very curiously wrought, and so 
judiciously placed, as to give the whole of her garb a 
very pleasing, though rather romantic appearance. 

Her leisure hours from hunting had been employed 
in twisting the inner rind or bark of willows into 
small lines, like netting-twine, of which she had some 
hundred fathoms by her ; with this she intended to 
make a fishing-net as soon as the spring advanced, 
It is of the inner bark of willows, twisted in this 
manner, that the Dog-ribbed Indians make their fish- 
ing nets; and they are greatly preferable to those 
made by the northern Indians.* 

* The northern Indians make their fishing-nets with small thongs 
cut from raw deer-skins, which, when dry, appear very good ; but, 
after being soaked in water some time, grow so soft and slippery that, 



ADVE^'T^RES OF AN INDIAN WOMAN. 323 

Five or six inches of an iron hoop made into a 
knife, and the shank of an iron arrow-head, which 
served her as an awl, was all the metal this poor wo- 
man had with her when she eloped ; and with these 
implements she had made herself complete snow- 
shoes, and several other useful articles. 

Her method of making a fire was equally singular 
and curious, having no other materials for that pur- 
pose than two hard sulphureous stones. These, by 
long friction and hard knocking, produced a few 
sparks, which, at length, communicated to some 
touch-wood ; but, as this method was attended with 
great trouble, and not always with success, she did 
not suffer her fire to go out all the winter. Hence 
we may conclude that she had no idea of producing 
fire by Motion in the manner practised by the Esqui- 
maux and other unci\'ilized nations ; because, if she 
had, the above-mentioned precaution would have been 
unnecessary. 

When the Athapuscow Indians took this woman 
prisoner, they, according to the universal custom of 
those savages, surprised her and her party in the 
night, and killed every one in the tent except her- 
self and three other young women. Among those 
whom they destroyed were her father, mother, and 
husband. Her young child, between four and five 
months old, she concealed in a bundle of clothing, 
and took with her undiscovered in the night ; but, 

when large fish strike the net, the meshes are very apt to slip and 
let them escape. Besides this inconvenience, they are very liable to 
rot, unless they be frequently taken out of the water and dried. 



324 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



when she arrived at the place where the Athapuscow 
Indians had left their wives, (which was not far dis- 
tant,) they began to examine her bundle, and, find- 
ing the child, one of the women took it from her and 
immediately killed it. 

This last piece of barbarity gave her such a dis- 
gust towards those Indians, that, notwithstanding the 
man who took care of her treated her in every re- 
spect as well as he did his wife, and was, as she said, 
remarkably kind to her, so far was she from being 
able to reconcile herself to any of the tribe, that she 
rather chose to expose herself to misery and want 
than live in ease and abundance among persons who 
had so cruelly murdered her infant. 

In a conversation with this woman soon after- 
wards, she told us that her country lies so far to the 
westward that she had never seen iron, or any other 
kind of metal, till she was taken prisoner. All of 
her tribe, she observed, made their hatchets and ice- 
chisels of deer's horns, and their knives of stones 
and bones. She told us that their arrows were shod 
with a kind of slate, bones, or deer's horns ; and the 
instruments which they employed to make their 
wooden utensils were nothing but beavers' teeth. 
Though they had frequently heard of the useful ma- 
terials which the tribes to the east of them were sup- 
plied with from the white men, so unwilling were 
they to draw neartr for the sake of trading in iron, 
that, on the contrary, they retreated further back, to 
avoid the Athapuscow Indians, who made terrible 
slaughter among them both in winter and summer. 




An Indian Lodge. 



AN INDIAN LODGE. 



S27 



The Blackfeet and the Crows, (says Catlin,) like 
tlie Sioux and Asinneboins, have nearly the same 
mode of constructing their wigwam or lodge ; in 
which tribes it is made of buffalo skins sewed to- 
gether, after being dressed, and made into the form 
of a tent ; supported within by some twenty or thirty 
pine poles of twenty-five feet in height, with an apex 
or aperture at the top, through which the smoke 
escapes and the light is admitted. These lodges, or 
tents, are taken down in a few minutes by the squaws, 
when they wish to change their location, and easily 
transported to any part of the country where they 
wish to encamp ; and they generally move some six 
or eight times in the course of the summer, following 
the immense herds of buffaloes as they range over 
these vast plains, from east to west and north to 
south. The objects for which they do this are two- 
fold: to procure and dress their skins, which are 
brought in, in the fall and winter, and sold to the 
Fur Company for white man's luxury, and also for 
the purpose of killing and drying buffalo meat, which 
they bring in from their hunts, packed on their 
horses' backs, in great quantities; making pemican 
and preserving the marrow-fat for their winter quar- 
ters, which are generally taken up in some heavy- 
timbered bottom, on the banks of some stream, deep 
imbedded within the surrounding bluffs, which break 
off the winds and make their long and tedious winter 



328 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



tolerable and supportable. They then sometimes 
erect their skin-lodges among the timber, and dwell 
in them during the winter months ; but more fre- 
quently cut logs and make a miserable and rude sort 
of log-cabiuj in which they can live much warmer 
and better protected from the assaults of their ene- 
mies, in case they are attacked ; in w^hich case a log- 
cabin is a tolerable fort against Indian weapons. 

The Crows, of all the tribes in this region, or 
on the Continent, make the most beautiful lodges. 
They construct them as the Sioux do, and make 
them of the same material; yet they oftentimes 
dress the skins of which they are composed al- 
most as white as linen, and beautifully garnish 
them with porcupine quills, and paint and orna- 
ment them in such a variety of ways as renders 
them exceedingly picturesque and agreeable to the 
eye. I have procured a very beautiful one of this 
description, highly ornamented, and fringed with 
scalp-locks, and sufficiently large for forty men to 
dine under. The poles which support it are about 
thirty in number, of pine, and all cut in the Kocky 
Mountains, having been some hundred years, perhaps, 
in use. This tent, when erected, is about twenty-five 
feet high, and has a very pleasing effect, with the 
Great or Good Spirit painted on one side, and the 
Evil Spirit on the other. 



SILOUEEo 



329 



There cannot be a more unprincipled and vicious 
set of men than the whites who dwell on the bounda- 
ries between civilized men and the Indians ; they 
rob, murder, and betray them. And in return, taking 
a dreadful revenge for many unprovoked attacks, the 
Indians frequently destroy, not only their persecutors, 
but their whole families with them. 

Virginia, so named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, 
was first settled by English colonists about two hun- 
dred and fifty years ago. On one particular occasion. 
Colonel Bird was employed by the English govern- 
ment to transact some business with a tribe of Chero- 
kee Indians. It unfortunately happened that a short 
time before he went among them, some white people 
had seized two Indians who had given them some 
trifling offence, and had most unjustly put them to 
death ; and the Indians, naturally made angry at such 
an outrage, determined upon taking revenge when- 
ever an opportunity should offer. 

The wished-for opportunity was now presented by 
the appearance of Colonel Bird among them, and pri- 
vate consultations were held by their aged men as 
to the most effectual means of getting him into their 
power, and making him the sacrifice. 

Their unfriendly intentions were soon perceived 
by Colonel Bird, who, although he was by no means 
deficient in courage, felt that he had just cause of 
alarm ; for he knew he was in their power, without 

42 2 E 2 



830 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



means eitlier of escape or defence. On retiring to 
rest, he could not help reflecting that before morning 
he might be scalped, or, what was worse, retained 
a prisoner to be tortured for their savage amusement. 
Several nights were passed in sleepless anxiety, and 
in vain endeavours to contrive some plan of escape. 

Among the neighbouring Cherokees was one named 
Silouee. Besides being a chief, he was also a cele- 
brated pow-wow, or, as we should say, a wizard, or a 
conjuror. This man had known Colonel Bird for a 
considerable time, and had even eaten with him at 
his table. Silouee therefore felt a friendship for the 
colonel, and almost every night came to his tent, and 
appeared anxious to relieve him. He told him not 
to be alarmed, and even assured him that the Indians 
should not injure him. This assurance comforted 
Colonel Bird in some degree ; but, as Silouee was only 
one among many chiefs, he feared that his influence 
would not be sufficient to protect him from the vio- 
lence of the revengeful savages. 

At length a general council of the chiefs and old 
men of the tribe was held, and, contrary to Silouee's 
expectation, it was determined that Colonel Bird 
should be put to death in revenge for the loss of their 
countrymen. It was in vain that Silouee earnestly 
pleaded for his friend, urging that he had no hand in 
the murder of their two countrymen. The unani- 
mous decision was against him. 

Two warriors were now despatched to Colonel 
Bird's tent, to execute the cruel sentence that had 
been pronounced against him. Silouee insisted on 



SILOUEE. 



331 



accompanying them. On reaching the tent, Silouee 
rushed in before them, threw himself on the bosom of 
his friend, and, as soon as the two warriors ap- 
proached, he exclaimed, " This man is my friend ; 
before you take him, you must kill me." 

Overawed by the magnanimous determination of 
Silouee, the warriors returned to the council and re- 
lated to their brethren what they had seen. Indians 
entertain the greatest respect for a faithful friend. 
The consultation was renewed. The noble conduct 
of Silouee touched their better feelings, and altered 
their purpose. They could not put to death a white 
man who was the friend of Silouee ; they, therefore, 
released Colonel Bird, and bid him go to his home in 
peace. Silouee was his guide and protector, and not 
till they came in sight of Colonel Bird's tent did he 
leave him. As they parted, Silouee's last words to 
his friend were, When you see poor Indian in fear 
of death from cruel white men, remember Silouee." 

The strong tendency to superstition in the Indian 
mind furnishes a powerful inducement to the more 
bold and crafty among them to assume the character 
of pow-wows, medicine-men, and even prophets. 

Every thing among the Indians of great efficacy 
and power — in short, every thing that is inexplicable — 
is a " medicine," and " medicine-men" are held in 
almost as great respect as the warriors and braves. 
"Medicine-men" are a sort of jugglers, and they 
affect much mystery in preparing and administering 
their nostrums. Incredible stories are related of their 
powers and performances, many of which we pre- 



332 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

sume never took place, except in the imaginations of 
the ignorant hunters and trappers who were imposed 
on by the dexterity of these audacious quacks. 

A medicine is also a charm which every Indian, who 
has arrived at the age of manhood, carries about him. 
It is usually the dried skin of some animal, such as 
a beaver, an otter, a fox, weasel, raven, or some other 
bird; but, whatever it may be, it is preserved by 
them with the most superstitious care. In no in- 
stance have they been tempted to sell a " medicine" 
to the white man, however great the price offered ; 
and at their death it is invariably buried with its 
owner. 

Some years after Colonel Bird's life had been saved 
by Silouee, he became a Virginian planter, and took 
up his residence near the J ames river, where he cul- 
tivated tobacco. Silouee, we have already stated, 
was di. poiv-iuoiu ; he retained his friendship for Colonel 
Bird, of whom he was now a near neighbour. Like 
many of his nation, he had, by his intercourse with 
white men, acquired a great taste for " strong wa- 
ters," as they call intoxicating spirits, and the dignity 
of the chief was often clouded over by drunkenness. 
On one occasion. Colonel Bird had gone to another 
part of the country, forty or fifty miles distant, on 
business, and had left the care of his plantation to 
an overseer. The tobacco had obtained some size, 
and a long drought coming on, there was a prospect 
of the crop being much injured. One day, when Si- 
louee came to the plantation, the overseer expressed 
great regret that the tobacco was taking so much 



SILOCJEE. 



833 



harm ; indeed," continued he, " it will be entirely 
lost, if we have not rain soon." 

" "Well," said the Indian, what will you give me 
if I bring you rain ?" 

" You bring rain ?" said the overseer, laughing. 

" Me can," said the Indian. " Give me two bottles 
rum — only two, and me bring rain enough." 

The overseer cast his eyes towards the heavens, 
but could discern no appearance that foretold rain. 
To gratify the Indian, he promised to give him the 
two bottles of rum when Colonel Bird arrived, in case 
the rain should come speedily and save the crop of 
tobacco. 

Silouee now fell to pow-wowing with all his might, 
making grimaces, contorting his body, and uttering 
strange, unintelligible ejaculations. 

It was a hot, close day, and it so happened that 
towards evening, the sky, which had been clear for 
some weeks, clouded over, and the appearance of the 
heavens was strongly in favour of rain. Before mid- 
night, thunder was heard, and heavy showers of rain 
watered the colonel's plantation thoroughly ; while it 
was remarked that the showers were so partial that 
the neighbouring plantations were left almost as dry 
as they were before. The Indian waited quietly till 
the rain was over, and then walked away. A few 
days after, the colonel returned to the plantation, and, 
when Silouee heard of his arrival, he went immedi- 
ately to visit him. 

" Master Bird," said he, " me come for my two bot- 
tles rum." 



834 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Your two bottles of rum/' exclaimed the colonel, 
pretending not to know any thing of the matter ; 
" pray, do I owe you two bottles of rum ?" 

" You do," replied the Indian. 

" How so T inquired the colonel. 

" Me bring you rain — me save your crop," said the 
Indian. 

" You bring rain," said the colonel ; " no such 
thing." 

"Me did," persisted the Indian; "me loved you; 
me tell overseer give two bottles rum, and then me 
bring rain. Overseer say he would ; me bring cloud, 
then rain ; now me want rum." 

" You saw the cloud," said Colonel Bird ; " you are 
a sad cheat." 

" Me no cheat," said the Indian ; " me saw no cloud ; 
me hring cloud." 

"Well, well," said the colonel, "you are an old 
friend, and you shall have the rum, since you beg so 
hard for it. But mind you, it is not for the rain. 
The Great Spirit sent the rain, not you." 

" Well," said the Indian, "j/o?ir tobacco had rain 
upon it — why others have none ? Answer that, colonel, 
if you can." 

Although the North American Indians have never 
been found idolaters; yet, like all ignorant people, 
they are exceedingly superstitious. Some of their 
superstitions, connected with religious beliefs, are 
very curious, as they bear so much resemblance to the 
Mosaic account of the Creation and the Deluge as to 
leave hardly a doubt of their having some tradition 



SILOUEE. 



835 



of those events ; but, from the art of writing being 
totally unknown among them, the wonder is . that any 
similarity in the account should have been preserved 
through so many ages. 

As might be expected, different tribes have their 
own peculiar superstitions ; but all agree in the belief 
in one All- wise, Supreme Being, whom they call the 
Great Spirit, or Master of Life ; that he created the 
world and all good things, and that he rewards good 
actions, both in this world and in a future life. 

Their heaven, or place of reward, they imagine to 
be a deHghtfully warm country, where game of all 
kinds is very abundant, and where corn and fruits 
grow without the trouble of cultivation. 

Their imagined place of punishment is a climate 
of extreme cold; barren, and covered with eternal 
snows. The torments of this freezing place they de- 
scribe as the most excruciating ; but they also believe 
that those who go there will suffer for a time propor- 
tioned to their transgressions, and that they will then 
be admitted into the land of happiness. 

Some of the Indian tribes observe an annual reli- 
gious ceremony, for which great preparations are made 
beforehand. On the appointed morning there ap- 
pears at a distance a man whom they recognise by 
the name of Nu-mock-muck-a-nah, which means, the 
first or only man. He slowly and with great gravity 
enters the village, telling the assembled people that 
he is just arrived from the West. His body is painted 
red ; he is dressed in the skins of white wolves ; his 
head-dress is made of ravens' feathers, and in his 



336 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



hand lie carries an enormous pipe. At his approach, 
the medicine-lodge, which till then had been most 
scrupulously kept shut, is thrown open, and the floor 
is seen strewn with green willow branches and the 
most fragrant herbs that can be collected. It is like- 
wise whimsically ornamented with buffalo and human 
sculls. 

The first man now proceeds to every lodge or wig- 
wam that composes the village, and demands from 
each a knife, an axe, or some such tool ; and these 
are readily given to be sacrificed ; " for, with these 
things," say they, " the great canoe was built." 

These articles are then deposited in the medicine- 
lodge, with profound veneration, until the ceremonies 
are all over, and they are then sacrificed by being 
thrown into the water. 

At sunrise, on the following morning, Nu-mock- 
muck-a-nah opens and enters the medicine-lodge ; a 
number of young men follow him, who, after lying 
on the floor in perfect silence and fasting till their 
strength is almost exhausted, voluntarily submit to 
the most cruel tortures, during which several annu- 
ally perish ; but those who survive are recompensed 
by having acquired the honourable title of " Braves," 
and the hope of this distinction enables them to en- 
dure the most agonizing pain without flinching. 

The conductor of the ceremonies now enters the 
lodge. He is painted yellow, and wears a cap of buf- 
falo skin ; he receives the great pipe from the first 
man, who immediately leaves the lodge and returns 
to the West, not to make his appearance again till 
the next annual celebration. 



SILOUEE. 



337 



During the first three days, there is a great va- 
riety of dances and curious songs and ceremonies per- 
formed in front of the medicine-lodge, by persons fan- 
tastically dressed and painted for the occasion. They 
are performed round an elevated mound of earth, 
about six feet in diameter, and as many in height, on 
the top of which is placed with the greatest venera- 
tion a model of " the great canoe." 

The principal actors in this scene are eight persons 
variously painted and nearly naked, but all carrying 
wreaths of willow in their hands ; the season when 
this interesting ceremony takes place being uniformly 
as soon as this tree is in full leaf; for the Indians 
say that " the twig which the dove hroiight to the great 
canoe had leaves upon itT They consider this bird as 
sacred, and never attempt to destroy it. 

On the third day, in the midst of all this dancing 
and festivity, the village appears to be suddenly 
thrown into the utmost confusion by the approach of 
a man who is seen running about apparently in great 
trouble. He is naked and painted black, with the 
exception of his face, which is frightfully daubed 
with red and white. He is called by the Indians the 
''Evil Spirit" He runs from lodge to lodge, and be- 
haves with the greatest rudeness to all whom he 
meets ; but he is constantly frustrated in his evil de- 
signs by the conductor, who thrusts his great pipe be- 
tween him and those whom he assails. At length he 
is fairly driven out, and the village is again restored 
to tranquillity. 



* The numbers of persons who went into the ark. 
43 2 F 



838 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




The buffalo hunt is, next to an Indian battle, the 
most intensely exciting scene which may be witnessed 
among the wilds of the West. To the buffalo, the 
Indian looks for food, for clothing, and for religious 
and household implements. The hunting of that ani- 
mal he regards as a duty as well as a pleasure ; and 
when once it is rumoured through a village that a herd 
of buffaloes is in sight, then warriors who have faced 
death in a hundred forms bring out their swiftest 
horses and spring u23on them ; and when the whole 
party rushes across the field to engage the bellowing 
herd, a scene is presented for which it would be vain 
to look for a parallel, not merely amid the tame for- 
malities of civilized life, but even among the deserts 
and cane-brakes of Africa or the jungles of India. 

The Indians have several methods of attacking 
buffaloes. The most exciting, as well as most danger- 
ous one, is that in which they surround the herd for 



A BUFFALO HUNT. 



341 



the purpose of destroying it. The hunters, well 
mounted on their buffalo horses, and armed with bows 
and arrows or long lances, divide themselves into two 
columns, take opposite directions, and at the distance 
of a mile or more draw gradually around the herd, 
and having formed a circle, close upon their prey at 
regular distances. On perceiving the danger, the 
herd run in the opposite direction, but the horsemen 
rush in full speed to their front, and by brandishing 
their weapons and yelling, they turn the dense mass 
in an opposite direction. Here they are met and 
foiled in a similar manner. By this means, the hun- 
ters soon unite their parties, thus forming a continu- 
ous line around the herd. By this time the buffaloes 
are wheehng about in a crowded and confused mass, 
wounding and climbing upon each other. Then the 
work of death commences. Galloping round and 
round, the fierce hunters drive their arrows and 
lances to the hearts of their trembling victims. Some- 
times the animals, infuriated by deadly wounds, plunge 
furiously forward, and, bearing down horse and rider, 
gore and crush the former, while the Indian escapes 
by running. Sometimes the herd suddenly divides 
into two ; and the horsemen, blinded by clouds of dust, 
are wedged in among the crowding beasts, when their 
only chance of escape is to leap over the backs of the 
herd, leaving the horses to their fate. Occasionally a 
buffalo selects a particular horseman and pursues him 
at full speed, until, when stooping to lift the horse 
upon his horns, he receives in the side^the warrior's 
shaft. Some of the Indians, when pursued, throw 



342 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



their buffalo robe over the horns and eyes of the in- 
furiated animal, and dashing by its side, drive their 
weapon to its heart. Others suddenly dash off upon 
the prairies in pursuit of the few who have separated 
from the throng. These are soon brought down. In 
a few minutes the hunt is changed into a desperate 
battle, and gradually the whole mass of buffaloes 
sink in death. 

A new scene immediately succeeds the work of car- 
nage. The hunters, leading their horses by the bridle, 
move among the dead and dying animals, and draw- 
ing the weapons from their sides, claim their prey by 
the private marks on the arrows. Among the poor 
affrighted creatures (says an eye-witness to one of 
these scenes) that has occasionally dashed through the 
ranks of their enemy, and sought safety in flight upon 
the prairie, I saw them stand a while looking back, 
when they turned, and as if bent on their own de- 
struction, retraced their steps and mingled themselves 
and their deaths with those of the dying throng. 
Others had fled to a distance on the prairies, and for 
want of company had stood and gazed on until the 
battle scene was over, when they fell easy victims to 
the pursuer's weapons." 

After all the animals have been claimed, the war- 
riors hold a council, and, after smoking a few pipes, 
ride into their village to announce the result. Of 
course every thing is there in commotion, and soon 
long processions of dogs and women issue forth, skin 
and cut up the prey, and return amid loud acclama- 
tions to their homes. 



SUFFERINGS OF BARD's FAMILY. 843 



^mf^dngs; ®s|tafo Wsixh'^ §Bmil^. 

The cruelty of the Indians to their captives taken 
in war is proverbial. A detail of the tortures which 
they formerly inflicted upon such, would shock and 
sicken the modern reader. Happily these atrocities are 
now much less common than formerly, even among 
the tribes which still retain their primitive strength 
and independence. The silent, but powerful influence 
of association or intercourse with the whites has not 
failed to produce a gratifying effect ; while the com- 
paratively small number of wars among different 
tribes tends to render them more friendly in peace, 
more humane in war. But when the entire tract from 
the Alleghanies to the Pacific swarmed with fierce 
and populous tribes, embroiled in endless wars with 
each other, and possessing nothing in common, save 
hatred to the English settlers, the sufferings endured 
by the unfortunates who fell into Indian hands were 
indeed dreadful. Perhaps no States suffered more 
than Virginia and Pennsylvania. The history of our 
western counties, Alleghany, "Westmoreland, Bedford, 
and others, is one continuous narrative of massacre, 
conflagration, and devastation. 

The family of Eichard Bard resided on the Carroll 
tract, in Adams county. On the 13th of April, 1758, 
his house was attacked by nineteen Delaware Indians. 
Bard and his wife, two children, a servant boy, and 
Lieutenant Potter, a relative, were within. As the 
foremost Indians rushed in, one of them aimed a blow 



344 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



at Potter with a large cutlass ; this he dodged and 
wrested the weapon from the owner. Bard snapped 
a pistolj which alarmed the savages, and they retreated 
from the house. But the odds were so great that 
Bard, fearing they would fire the house, surrendered. 
Two other men and a boy were taken in a field, and 
the Indians, having plundered the house and fired the 
adjoining mill, set out on their return. 

By this time the neighbourhood had become alarmed, 
and a party of white men were forming to pursue the 
savages. Aware of this, the latter hurried their re- 
treat toward the AUeghanies. Now the sufferings of 
the prisoners began. At a little distance from the 
house. Potter was killed and scalped ; soon after the 
smaller child was tomahawked and scalped. One of 
the men found in the field shared a like fate. The 
remaining prisoners were hurried through forests and 
over mountains, and subjected to every extreme of 
toil and hunger. A council was held to determine 
upon Bard's fate. At its close one half of his face was 
painted red, to indicate that the warriors were equally 
divided respecting his fate. Toward evening he was 
employed with his wife in picking a turkey. At this 
time some of the Indians were lying down, and others 
amusing themselves with articles of dress. Bard re- 
solved on attempting an escape, and communicated 
the design to his wife. Soon after being sent to a 
spring for water, he effected his purpose, while Mrs. 
Bard amused the Indians with one of her gowns. 
After an unsuccessful search, they proceeded to fort 
Duquesne and thence down the river to Kuskusky. 



SUFFERINGS OF BARD's FAMILY. 345 

Here the Indians pulled and scratclied the faces of 
Mrs. Bard and her children, and then beat them in 
an unmerciful manner. Daniel McManimj, one of 
the captured men, was detained outside the town. 
The Indians surrounded him, beat him with sticks 
and tomahawks, tied him to a post, tortured him with 
burning coals and scalped him. They passed red-hot 
gun barrels over his body, and stabbed him with 
bayonets heated to fusing until he expired. 

After this tragedy the Indians separated Mrs. Bard 
from her children, and carried her into one of their 
councils. Two squaws approached and struck her on 
the face ; but this insult was condemned by the war- 
riors as a breach of decorum. A chief took her by 
the hand, and delivered her to two Indians as a sub- 
stitute for a deceased sister. She lived as such about 
a month, and was then taken to the head waters of 
the Susquehanna. The journey was so fatiguing that 
she was taken sick, and remained so nearly two months. 
She remained in captivity two years and five months, 
when she was ransomed, together with her children, 
by Mr. Bard. He, after effecting his escape, had wan- 
dered about from one settlement to another, in quest 
of his wife ; and on more than one occasion narrowly 
escaped death from the Indians. He afterwards lived 
on friendly terms with one of the Indians who had 
acted as brother to his wife. 



44 



346 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



Among the first tribes of the Great Oregon Terri- 
tory, which estabUshed friendly intercourse with the 
United States traders, were the Omahas. The boast 
of these Indians was a chief named Blackbird, who 
was a steadfast friend of the white men and the ter- 
ror of the neighbouring hostile tribes. Such were 
his skill, courage, and success in war, that friends and 
foes regarded him as enchanted. He delighted in 
trials of strength or agility, in which he always came 
off victorious. In addition to these qualities, he pos- 
sessed a secret which rendered him more than human 
in the eyes of his barbarous followers. This was an 
acquaintance with the properties of arsenic, which he 
had obtained from a white trader. Whenever he was 
displeased with an Indian, he prophesied his death 
before a certain day, and the sure accomplishment of 
the prophecy rendered Blackbird an object of terror 
and reverence. 

On one occasion the Poncas made an incursion into 
Blackbird's territory, and carried away a number of 
women and horses. He immediately collected his 
warriors and pursued them. The Poncas sheltered 
themselves behind a rude embankment, but their per- 
severing enemy, gaining a good position, poured upon 
them a well-directed fire, which did fearful execu- 
tion. The Ponca chief despatched a herald with the 
calumet, but he was immediately shot; a second 
herald experienced the same treatment. The chief- 



BLACKBIRD. 



347 



tain's daughter, a young maiden of much personal 
"beauty, then appeared before the stern foe, dressed 
with exquisite taste, and bearing the calumet. Black- 
bird's heart softened, he accepted the sacred emblem, 
and concluded a peace with his enemy. The pledge 
given and received was the beautiful Ponca maiden, 
as wife to the fierce chieftain of Omaha. 

For the first time the heart of Blackbird felt the 
genial influence of love. He loved the young crear 
ture who had saved her tribe, with all the ardour of 
untutored nature. But he was still a savage, and 
sometimes ungovernable bursts of rage would trans- 
port him beyond all bounds of affection or decency. 
In one of these, his beloved wife unwittingly offended 
him. He instantly drew his knife and laid her dead 
with a single blow. The dreadful deed calmed him 
in a moment. For a httle while he looked at the 
beautiful corpse in stupid grief, and then, with his 
head wrapped in his robe, he sat down beside it. He 
ate no food, spake no word for three days. The re- 
monstrances of his people were received with silence, 
and no one dared to uncover his face. At length one 
of them brought in a small child, and placed the foot 
of the unhappy warrior on its neck. Blackbird was 
moved by the significant appeal, and throwing aside 
his robe, he arose and delivered an oration. 

The Omaha tribe were greatly thinned by small- 
pox, and to this loathsome disease their great chief- 
tain fell victim. His dying request was bold and fan- 
ciful. Near the source of the Missouri is a high soli- 
tary rock, round which the river winds in a nearly 



348 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



circular direction, and which commands a view of the 
adjacent country for many miles around. There Black- 
bird had often sat to watch for the canoes of the white 
traders, and there it was his dying request to be 
buried. He was to be mounted upon his horse, com- 
pletely armed, so as to overlook his lands, and watch 
for the coming boat of the white men. His orders 
were obeyed ; and on that same high promontory, over 
the tomb of the Indian warrior was raised his national 
banner, capped with the scalps which he had taken 
in battle. Of course the Indians regard the rock with 
superstitious reverence, and have their own stories of 
the scenes which occasionally take place on and 
around it. 



This ceremony seems to be peculiar to the Assin- 
neboin Indians. A small fire is made on a hard-trod- 
den pavement in front of the village, and round this 
the dancers, generally young men, collect — each 
seated upon a bulfalo robe spread on the ground. 
The presiding genius is a chief, sometimes a medicine- 
man, who, with a long pipe in his hand, seats him- 
self by the fire, and smokes with a fervour and per- 
severance worthy the dignity of an Indian ceremony. 
Occasionally he harmonizes the surrounding uproar by 
a song uttered in half-strangled gutturals, intelligible 
only to himself Meanwhile^ an equally august per- 



1 



ESCAPE FROM TORTURE. 



851 



sonage beats on a drum, modifying its music by a 
song, wholly independent of the pipe-smokers. In a 
little while, one of the young men leaps from the 
ground, and, while singing in time with the taps of the 
drum, leaps about off of one foot and on to the other 
in the most violent manner. In this way he goes 
round the circle several times, brandishing his fists in 
the face of each one seated, and at length jerking one 
of them forcibly to his feet. Both now dance and 
sing, until at length another is dragged out, who, in 
his turn, drags another. The whole party then join 
in frightful yells, and gesticulations so violent that 
the earth seems to shake under their feet. Mean- 
while, the master of ceremonies sits with the utmost 
coolness, puffing clouds of smoke, and merrily grunt- 
ing his inimitable song. The dance usually lasts 
nearly an hour, and closes with piercing yells and 
barkings, like those uttered by frightened dogs. 



A RENOWNED Muscoghec warrior, named Old 
Scranny, was taken prisoner by the Shawanoe war- 
riors and condemned to the fiery torture. After beat- 
ing him with their customary barbarity, he was tied 
to a stake and subjected to the most exquisite suffer- 
ings. These he bore with entire unconcern ; at the 
same time returning the taunts of his persecutors 



352 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



with all the scorn of an Indian warrior. He called 
them squaws and old women ; told them that his 
fame in his own nation, which was great, had all 
been achieved at their expense ; that they knew not 
how to die, and he longed to teach them. He con- 
fessed that, through some impurity or other, he had 
forfeited the protection of , the Great Spirit, and de- 
served to die ; but that he still retained virtue suffi- 
cient to enable him to punish himself much more 
effectually than they could. This he engaged to 
prove, if they would release him and hand him one 
of the hot gun-barrels out of the fire. The proposal 
was rendered more bold by his manner of making it; 
and the curiosity of the Indians being excited, they 
agreed to grant him an opportunity. 

He was not slow in furnishing an exhibition of his 
skill. No sooner had he laid hold of the gun-barrel, 
then, brandishing it from side to side, he forced his 
way through the armed but astonished multitude, 
leaped down a high, steep precipice into the river, 
dived through it, ran over a small island, passed an- 
other bank, amid a shower of bullets from the garri- 
son at New Windsor, and gained a thick bramble 
bush, where he remained secure. From this he soon 
after started ; and, though numbers of his eager ene- 
mies were in pursuit, he succeeded in reaching his 
own tribe. He was ever afterwards a terrible scourge 
to the Shawanoes. 



PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF CAPTAIN BRADY. 353 



In the days wlien there were more red men than 
white in western Pennsylvania^ little parties, each 
under a favourite leader, were frequently sent into 
the woods as rangers, to guard against surprise. One 
of these, commanded by Captain Samuel Brady, was 
sent into " French Creek country," in Butler county. 
On reaching the waters of Slippery Eock, a branch 
of the Beaver, he discovered an Indian trail, and pur- 
sued it until dark. On the following morning, he 
recommenced the pursuit, and came up with the In- 
dians while they were seated at breakfast. He im- 
mediately fired. Suddenly he also received a fire 
from the rear ; and now perceived, for the first time, 
that he had himself been pursued by a second party 
of Indians. He was now between two parties. The 
battle cry of those in the rear was fiercely answered 
by those in front. Two of his men fell at the first 
fire, and his own tomahawk was shot from his 
side. There being no chance of successful defence, 
Brady's men fled in all directions. The captain was 
well known to the Indians as one of their most dan- 
gerous foes, and, thirsting for revenge, they passed by 
his men so as to secure him. The country was un- 
known to him, and he unconsciously took the road 
to the creek, the channel of which ran between deep 
and precipitous banks, twenty-three feet apart. Sure 
of securing their enemy, the Indians uttered a yell 

45 



354 



THRILLING ADVENTURES, 



of triumph as^ throwing down their guns, they seized 
their tomahawks and bent forward to the chase. 

The captain had, long before this, resolved, as a 
rule of conduct, never to be captured by the Indians. 
On observing the creek, he comprehended at a glance 
what was his only chance of escape, and, summoning 
his every effort, he sprang toward the opposite shore. 
A moment after, the Indians arrived to see their prey 
on the bank coolly loading his rifle. " Brady make 
good jump," exclaimed the chief, as he darted away 
in a zigzag course to avoid the captain's fire. Soon 
after, Brady met his remaining three men at a place 
previously appointed, and the little party set out for 
Pittsburgh. Three Indians had been seen to fall by 
their first fire. 



^tOig of Indian W^stexi^?* 

Narratives of revenge and bloodshed should be 
interesting to an enlightened mind only so far as, by 
illustrating human nature, they may be rendered 
effectual in reforming it. The morbid mind, which 
can dwell upon scenes of horror only for the purposes 
of curiosity and amusement, might, if divested of the 
restraints of civilized society, join the untutored sa- 
vage in his war-whoop and scalp-dance. The intrin- 
sic difference between the wild red man and the edu- 
cated white man lies not so much in the training of 
the head as of the heart; and, while we condemn 



STORY OF INDIAN REVENGE. 



355 



the former for his cruelty and thirst for revenge, it 
would be well for us to beware of imbibing an appe- 
tite of mere curiosity for the narratives in which such 
characteristics are set forth. 

In September, 1823, an Indian, named Abraham 
Antone, was executed for murder in Madison county. 
New York. The history of this indi^ddual is a pic- 
ture of some of the darkest passions of human na- 
ture. He never forgot an injury, and never failed to 
avenge one. When angry, his appearance was fright- 
ful. One evening, on entering his wigwam, he found his 
child, about five months old, crying. Snatching it from 
the mother s arms, he buried it in a bed of hot coals, 
accompanying the action with expressions which 
made even the Indian mother tremble. In 1810, his 
daughter Mary became attached to a young man, 
member of another tribe, but who soon left her for a 
more agreeable partner. Nature had bequeathed to 
Mary a portion of her father's disposition. She visited 
her rival, stabbed her to the heart, and was executed 
at Smithfield. A gentleman, named J acobs, who had 
been active in her arrest, was the principal witness 
against her. Antone threatened to kill him, and Ja- 
cobs, knowing that such a promise from his enemy 
was never compromised, left the county. Thus foiled, 
the Indian changed his tactics, acknowledged the in- 
justice of his former threat, and invited his victim to 
return. He did return, and had an interview with 
Antone, while hoeing corn with a number of men in a 
field. The Indian grasped his hand, exclaiming 
" How d'ye do, brother," and stabbed him three times 



356 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



under the ribs with a long knife, which he held in 
his sleeve. Before the bystanders could recover from 
their horror, he uttered a loud yell and bounded 
away. That night a party of Indians set out in pur- 
suit of him. He had encamped in a thick copse 
of underbrush, and was provided with dogs to give 
alarm if any one approached. In his rear he had, 
with much labour, cut a path in the almost impassa- 
ble thicket. The plan completely succeeded — An- 
tone fleeing through the narrow path at the first 
alarm and effecting his escape. Soon after a party 
of about thirty white men and Indians traced him to 
a second hiding-place; but again he succeeded in 
escaping. After this he went constantly armed with 
a rifle, two or three knives, and, as was supposed, a 
brace of pistols. Besides, he was generally accom- 
panied by his two sons, well armed, and one or two 
of his brothers. On one occasion two large Indians, 
having ascertained that Antone was alone, repaired 
to his camp for the purpose of capturing him. He 
was making a broom ; but, hearing a rustling at the 
entrance of the thicket, he quickly seized his rifle, 
and, as the foremost entered, pointed it toward him, 
declaring that if he advanced a step further he would 
shoot him dead. They stopped, and, after parleying 
for some time, withdrew. His rifle was unloaded! 
The adventure increased his recklessness. He boasted 
of having scared two Indians with an empty rifle, 
and at length passed through the towns and villages 
in open day. 

At his trial he pleaded not guilty. The witnesses 



MANDAN BULL DANCE. 



357 



against him were principally Indians ; but their tes- 
timony was given with carefulness and precision, and 
the evidence was conclusive. His counsel rested the 
defence on the ground that New York had no crimi- 
nal jurisdiction over the Indian tribes within her ter- 
ritory ; but this the court overruled, and An tone was 
sentenced to be hanged on Friday, September 12, 1823. 
In his character, the evils of savage life and of civil- 
ized society were blended, while, apparently, he was 
destitute of the manly virtues of the one, and of the 
softening influence of the other. 



The Bull Dance is one of the great religious 
ceremonies of the Mandans, preparatory to the cruel 
ordeal through which their young men pass before 
they are admitted to the dignity of braves. These 
religious rites are held annually, and the inhabitants 
of each village look forward to their return with deep 
interest. The occasion brings together men, women, 
and children, and such is the effect of superstition, 
that the stoutest warriors tremble on account of the 
evil influence which at that time is supposed to per- 
vade the air. The great mystery lodge is opened, 
strown with herbs and boughs and adorned with 
groupes of buffalo and of human skulls. During the 
first day a mysterious personage, known as the First 



358 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



or only man, passes from one lodge to another, relating 
tlie sad catastrophe which had happened on the earth's 
surface by the overflowing of the waters, and affirm- 
ing " that he was the only person saved from the uni- 
versal calamity; that he landed his big canoe on a 
high mountain in the west, where he now resides, that 
he had come to open the medicine lodge which must 
needs receive a present of some edged tool from the 
owner of every wigwam, that it may be sacrificed to 
the water, for if this is not done there will be another 
flood, and no one will be saved, as it was with such 
tools that the big canoe was made." The tool is 
always given, and deposited in the medicine lodge. 
During the night, no one is able to ascertain where 
this strange being sleeps ; all living things are kept 
within doors, and dead silence reigns throughout the 
village. On the following morning he again appears, 
followed by the young men who are candidates for 
torture, and who, with their leader, enter the medicine 
lodge. Here they remain for four days, fasting and 
praying to the Great Spirit. During this period they 
are cut off from intercourse with the villages, and 
meanwhile, the Bull Dance takes place outside. The 
ceremony is thus described by Catlin 

" This very curious and exceedingly grotesque part 
of their performance, one of the avowed objects for 
which they held this annual fete ; and to the strictest 
observance of which they attribute the coming of 
buffaloes to supply them with food during the season — 
is repeated four times during the first day, eight times 
on the second day, twelve times on the third day, and 



MANDAN BULL DANCE. 



361 



sixteen times on the fourth day ; and always around 
the curb, or 'hig canoe,' of which I have before spoken. 

" The principal actors in it were eight men, with 
the entire skins of buffaloes thrown over their backs, 
with the horns and hoofs and tails remaining on; their 
bodies in a horizontal position, enabling them to imi- 
tate the actions of the buffalo, whilst they were look- 
ing out of its eyes as through a mask. 

" The bodies of these men were chiefly naked, and 
all painted in the most extraordinary manner, with 
the nicest adherence to exact similarity ; their limbs, 
bodies, and faces, being in every part covered, either 
with black, red, or white paint. Each one of these 
strange characters had also a lock of buffalo's hair 
tied around his ancle — in his right hand a rattle, and 
a slender white rod or staff, six feet long, in the other ; 
and carried on his back, a bunch of green willow 
boughs, about the usual size of a bundle of straw. 
These eight men, being divided into four pairs, took 
their positions on the four different sides of the curb 
or big canoe, representing thereby the four cardinal 
points ; and between each group of them, with the 
back turned to the big canoe, was another figure, en- 
gaged in the same dance, keeping step with them, 
with a similar staff or wand in one hand and a rattle 
in the other, and (being four in number) answering 
again to the four cardinal points. The bodies of these 
four young men were chiefly naked, with no other 
dress upon them than a beautiful kelt or quartz-quaw, 
around the waist, made of eagles' quills and ermine, 
and very splendid head-dresses made of the same 

46 2 H 



362 



THRILLING ADS^ENTURES. 



materials. Two of these figures were painted en- 
tirely black with pounded charcoal and grease, whom 
they called the ' firmament or night/ and the numer- 
ous white spots which were dotted all over their bodies, 
they called ' stars/ The other two were painted from 
head to foot as red as vermilion could make them ; 
these they said represented the day, and the white 
streaks which were painted up and down over their 
bodies, were ^ghosts 's^hich the morning rays were 
chasino; awav.' 

This most remarkable scene, then, which is wit- 
nessed more or less often on each day, takes place in 
presence of the whole nation, who are generally 
gathered around, on the tops of the wigwams or other- 
wise, as spectators, whilst the A^oung men are reclin- 
ing and fasting in the lodge as above described. On 
the first day, this ' hull dance is given once to each 
of the cardinal points, and the medicine-man smokes 
his pipe in those directions. On the second day, 
twice to each; three times to each on the third day, 
and/oz^r times to each on the fourth. As a signal for 
the dancers and other characters (as well as the pub- 
lic) to assemble, the old man, master of ceremonies, 
with the medicine-pipe in hand, dances out of the 
lodge, singing (or rather crying) forth a most pitiful 
lament, until he approaches the big canoe, against 
which he leans, with the pipe in his hand, and con- 
tinues to cry. At this instant, four very aged and 
patriarchal looking men, whose bodies are painted red, 
and who have been guarding the four sides of the 
lodge, enter it and bring out the four sacks of water, 



MANDAN BULL DANCE. 



863 



which they place near the big canoej where they seat 
themselves by the side of them and commence thump- 
ing on them with the mallets or drum sticks which 
have been lying on them; and another brandishes 
and shakes the eeh-na-dees or rattles, and all unite to 
them their voices, raised to the highest pitch possible, 
as the music for the hull dance, which is then com- 
menced and continued for fifteen minutes or more in 
perfect time, and without cessation or intermission. 
When the music and dancing stop, which are always 
perfectly simultaneous, the whole nation raise the 
huzza! and a deafening shout of approbation; the 
master of ceremonies dances back to the medicine- 
lodge, and the old men return to their former place ; 
the sacks of water, and all rest as before, until by the 
same method they are again called into a similar 
action. 

" The supernumeraries or other characters who 
play their parts in this grand spectacle are numerous 
and well worth description. By the side of the big 
canoe are seen two men with the skins of grizzly bears 
thrown over them, using the skins as a mask, over 
their heads. These ravenous animals are continually 
growling and threatening to devour every thing before 
them, and interfering with the forms of their religious 
ceremony. To appease them, the women are con- 
tinually bringing and placing before them dishes of 
meat, which are as often snatched up and carried to 
the prairie, by two men whose bodies are painted 
black and their heads white, whom they call bald 
eagles, who are darting by them and grasping their 



864 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



food from before them as they pass. These are again 
chased upon the plains by a hundred or more small 
boys, who are naked, with their bodies painted yellow 
and their heads white, whom they call Cahjis or ante- 
lopes ; who at length get the food away from them and 
devour it; thereby inculcating (perhaps) the beauti- 
ful moral, that by the dispensations of Providence, his 
bountiful gifts will fall at last to the hands of the in- 
nocent. 

" During each and every one of these dances, the old 
men who beat upon the sacks and sing, are earnestly 
chanting forth their supplications to the Great Spirit, 
for the continuation of his influence in sending them 
buffaloes to supply them with food during the year ; 
they are administering courage and fortitude to the 
young men in the lodge, by telling them, that ' the 
Great Spirit has opened his ears in their behalf — that 
the very atmosphere all about them is peace — that 
their women and children can hold the mouth of the 
grizzly bear — that they have invoked from day to 
day 0-ke-hee-de (the evil spirit) — that they are still 
challenging him to come, and yet he has not dared to 
make his appearance !' 

" But alas ! in the last of these dances, on the fourth 
day, in the midst of all their mirth and joy, and about 
noon, and in the height of all these exultations, an 
instant scream burst forth from the tops of the lodges ! 
— men, women, dogs and all, seemed actually to howl 
and shudder with alarm, as they fixed their glaring 
eye-balls upon the prairie bluff, about a mile in the 
west, down the side of which a man was seen, des- 



MANDAN BULL DANCE. 



365 



cending at full speed towards the village ! This 
strange character darted about in a zig-zag course in 
all directions on the prairie, like a boy in pursuit of a 
butterfly, until he approached the piquets of the vil- 
lage, when it was discovered that his body was entirely 
naked, and painted as black as a negro, with pounded 
charcoal and bear's grease ; his body was therefore 
everywhere of a shining black, except occasionally 
white rings of an inch or more in diameter, which 
were marked here and there all over him ; and fright- 
ful indentures of white around his mouth, resembling 
canine teeth. Added to his hideous appearance, he 
gave the most frightful shrieks and screams as he 
dashed through the village and entered the terrified 
group, which was composed (in that quarter) chiefly 
of females, who had assembled to witness the amuse- 
ments which were transpiring around the ^ big canoe.' 

" This unearthly-looking creature carried in his two 
hands a wand or staff of eight or nine feet in length, 
with a red ball at the end of it, which he continually 
slid on the ground a-head of him as he ran. All eyes 
in the village, save those of the persons engaged in 
the dance, were centred upon him, and he made a 
desperate rush towards the women, who screamed for 
protection as they were endeavouring to retreat ; and 
falling in groups upon each other as they were 
struggling to get out of his reach. In this moment 
of general terror and alarm there was an instant 
check ! and all for a few moments were as silent as 
death. 

" The old master of ceremonies, who had run from 

2 h2 



366 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



his position at the big canoe, had met this monster of 
fiends, and having thrust the medicine-pipe before him, 
held him still and immovable under his charm! 
This check gave the females an opportunity to get 
out of his reach, and when they were free from their 
danger, though all hearts beat yet with the instant 
excitement, their alarm soon cooled down into the 
most exorbitant laughter and shouts of applause at 
his sudden defeat, and the awkward and ridiculous 
posture in which he was stopped and held. The old 
man was braced stiff by his side, with his eye-balls 
glaring him in the face, whilst the medicine-pipe held 
in its mystic chains his Satanic Majesty, annulling 
all the powers of his magical wand, and also depriv- 
ing him of the power of locomotion ! Surely no two 
human beings ever presented a more striking group 
than these two individuals did for a few moments, 
with their eye-balls set in direst mutual hatred upon 
each other; both struggling for the supremacy, relying 
on the potency of their medicine or mystery. The 
one held in check, with his body painted black, repre- 
senting (or rather assuming to be) his sable majesty, 
0-kee-hee-de, (the evil spirit,) frowning vengeance on 
the other, who sternly gazed him back with a look of 
exultation and contempt, as he held him in check and 
disarmed under the charm of his sacred mystery-pipe. 

" When the superior powers of the medicine-pipe 
(on which hang all these annual mysteries) had been 
thus fully tested and acknowledged, and the women had 
had requisite time to withdraw from the reach of this 
fiendish monster, the pipe was very gradually with- 



]\lA.NDAN BULL DANCE. 



367 



drawn from before him, and he seemed delighted to 
recover the use of his limbs again, and power of 
changing his position from the exceedingly unpleas- 
ant and really ridiculous one he appeared in, and was 
compelled to maintain, a few moments before; ren- 
dered more superlatively ridiculous and laughable, 
firom the further information, which I am constrained 
to give, of the plight in which this demon of terror 
and vulgarity made his entree into the midst of the 
Mandan village, and to the centre and nucleus of their 
first and greatest rehgious ceremony. * * * 

In this plight he pursued the groups of females, 
spreading dismay and alarm wherever he went, and 
consequently producing the awkward and exceedingly 
laughable predicament in which he was placed by the 
sudden check from the medicine-pipe, as I have above 
stated, when all eyes were intently fixed upon him, 
and all joined in rounds of applause for the success 
of the magic spell that was placed upon him; all 
voices were raised in shouts of satisfaction at his de- 
feat, and all eyes gazed upon him ; of chiefs and of 
warriors — matrons and even of their tender-aged and 
timid daughters, whose education had taught them to 
receive the moral of these scenes without the shock of 
impropriety, that would have startled a more fastidi 
ous and consequently sensual-thinking people. 

"After repeated attempts thus made, and thus de- 
feated in several parts of the crowd, this blackened 
monster was retreating over the ground where the 
buffalo-dance was going on, and having swaggered 
against one of the men placed under the skin of a 



368 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



buffalo and engaged in tlie ' bull dance/ he started 
back, and placed himself in the attitude of a buffalo. 

" After this he paid his visits to three others of the 
eight, in succession, receiving as before the deafening 
shouts of approbation which pealed from every mouth 
in the multitude, who were all praying to the Great 
Spirit to send them buffaloes to supply them with 
food during the season, and who attribute the coming 
of buffaloes for this purpose entirely to the strict and 
critical observance of this ridiculous and disgusting 
part of the ceremonies. 

"During the half hour or so that he had been 
jostled about amongst men and beasts, to the great 
amusement and satisfaction of the lookers-on, he 
seemed to have become exceedingly exhausted, and 
anxiously looking out for some feasible mode of 
escape. 

"In this awkward predicament he became the 
laughing-stock and butt for the women, who being no 
longer afraid of him, were gathering in groups around, 
to tease and tantalize him ; and in the midst of this 
dilemma, which soon became a very sad one — one of 
the women, who stole up behind him with both hands 
full of yellow dirt — dashed it into his face and eyes, 
and all over him, and his body being covered with 
grease, took instantly a different hue. He seemed 
heart-broken at this signal disgrace, and commenced 
crying most vehemently, when another caught his 
wand from his h^nd, and broke it across her knee. It 
was snatched for by others, who broke it still into 
bits, and then threw them at him. His power was 



SCENE IN AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 



869 



now gone — his bodily strength was exhausted, and he 
made a bolt for the prairie — he dashed through the 
crowd, and made his way through the piquets on the 
back part of the village, where were placed for the 
purpose, an hundred or more women and girls, who 
escorted him as he ran on the prairie for half a mile 
or more, beating him with sticks, and stones, and dirt, 
and kicks, and cuffs, until he was at length seen 
escaping from their clutches, and making the best of 
his retreat over the prairie bluffs, from whence he first 
appeared." With this the bull dance terminated. 



An institution among the Indians, similar to one 
among the ancient Jews, rendered it the duty of the 
nearest relative of a murdered man to pursue and 
punish the murderer. If he was a member of another 
tribe, one from its number was chosen to satisfy the 
demands of justice. Such an atonement being re- 
quisite to the happiness of the deceased warrior in the 
world of spirits, was considered more as a religious 
duty than an act of revenge. The following anecdote 
forcibly illustrates this custon!, together with an in- 
novation of it rarely permitted among Indians. 

About the year 1780, an Indian had been murdered 
in Westmoreland county. New York, by some un- 
known white man. The chiefs met in council at 
Oneida, to determine what was to be done. One of 

47 



370 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the early settlers in the county was a Mr. Dean, who 
feeling curious, perhaps alarmed, at the proceedings 
around him, continued, through the friendship of an 
Indian, to obtain knowledge of their consultations. 
It by no means satisfied him; since from the 
office he held (judge of county courts) and his high 
standing among the white men, the chiefs urged that 
he was the proper one to make atonement. But he 
had been adopted by them as a son, and many of the 
warriors argued that this circumstance would nullify 
the virtue of the sacrifice. For several days the 
matter was debated without being decided. His 
friendly informant apprized him of all that was done, 
and he continued to hope for the best. An effort to 
escape would have exposed him, with his wife and 
children, to certain destruction. He adopted the pre- 
caution of concealing from his family all knowledge 
of his situation, and as the council remained in ses- 
sion his hopes of escape brightened. They were vain. 
One night after retiring to rest, he heard the war- 
whoop, and then for the first time intimated to his 
wife that he feared a party was approaching to take 
his life. After exhorting her to remain quiet with 
the children, he went to an adjoining chamber, ad- 
mitted the Indians and seated them in the outer room. 
They numbered eighteen, and were the principal men 
of the tribe. After a short interval, the senior chief 
arose and informed the judge that they had come to 
sacrifice him for their dead brother, and that he must 
prepare to die. To this disagreeable piece of infor- 
mation he replied at length, affirming that as he was 



SCENE IX AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 371 

an adopted son of the tribe, it would be wrong to re- 
quire his blood for the wrong committed by a wicked 
white man, that he was not ready to die, that he could 
not leave his wife and children unprovided for, &c. 
The council listened with profound gravity and atten- 
tion, and after he had finished, one of the chiefs re- 
plied. The debate continued a long while, but evi- 
dently little to the judge's favour. When about re- 
signing himself to his doom, the noise of footsteps 
was heard, and suddenly a squaw entered. She was 
wife to the senior chief and the foster parent of the 
unfortunate white man. Though her entrance into a 
solemn council was entirely repugnant to all Indian 
notions of propriety, yet she was permitted to take her 
place in silence. Immediately after, another squaw 
entered, and she was as soon followed by another. Each 
of the three stood closely wrapped in a blanket, but 
said nothing. After a long pause, the presiding war- 
rior bade them be gone. The wife replied that the 
council must change its determination, and leave her 
adopted son, the good white man, alone. The com- 
mand was repeated. Suddenly each of the women, 
throwing aside her blanket, brandished a knife and 
declared that if the sentence were executed, she would 
plunge it into her bosom. So strange a scene amazed 
even Indians ; they regarded the unheard of pro- 
cedure of a woman's interfering with a national coun- 
cil as an interposition of the Great Spirit. The will 
of their deity was implicitly obeyed, the decree re- 
versed on the spot, and the judge dismissed with 
honour. 



372 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



The following is a narrative of Major Moses Yan 
Campen, a member of the American army during the 
Kevolation, and quarter-master to General Sullivan 
during the expedition of that officer against the In- 
dian towns of the Genesee, in 1779. He distinguished 
himself in several skirmishes at Newtown and H02: 
Back Hill, and with his brother was famous in the 
border wars of the Susquehanna. The account of 
his captivity is given in his own words : — - 

On the return of the army, I was taken with the 
camp fever, and was removed to the fort which I had 
built in '78, where my father was still living. In the 
course of the winter I recovered my health, and my 
father's house having been burnt in '78 by the party 
which attacked the before-mentioned fort, my father 
requested me to go with him and a younger brother 
to our farm, about four miles distant, to make prepa- 
rations for building another and raising some grain. 
But little apprehension was entertained of molesta- 
tions from the Indians this season, as they had been 
so completely routed the year before. We left the 
fort about the last of March, accompanied by my uncle 
and his son, about twelve years old, and one Peter 
Pence. We had been on our farms about four or five 
days, when, on the morning of the 30th of March, 
we were surprised by a party of ten Indians. My 
father was lunged through with a war-spear, his throat 
was cut, and he was scalped 5 while my brother was 



ESCAPE FROM THE INDIANS. 373 

tomahawked, scalped, and thrown into the fire before 
my eyes. While I was struggling with a warrior, 
the fellow who had killed my father drew his spear 
from his body and made a violent thrust at me. I 
shrank from the spear ; the savage who had hold of 
me turned it with his hand, so that it only penetrated 
my vest and shirt. They were then satisfied with 
taking me prisoner, as they had the same morning 
taken my uncle's httle son and Pence, though they 
killed my uncle. The same party, before they 
reached us, had touched on the lower settlements of 
Wyoming, and killed a Mr. Upson, and took a boy 
prisoner of the name of Rogers. We were now 
marched off up Fishing creek, and in the afternoon 
of the same day we came to Huntington, where the 
Indians found four white men at a sugar camp, who 
fortunately discovered the Indians and fled to a house. 
The Indians only fired on them and wounded a Cap- 
tain Ransom, when they continued their course till 
night. Ha\dng encamped and made their fire, we, 
the prisoners, were tied and well secured, five Indians 
lying on one side of us and five on the other. In 
the morning they pursued their course, and, leaving 
the waters of Fishing creek, touched the head-waters 
of Hemlock creek, where they found one Abraham 
Pike, his wife and child. Pike was made prisoner; 
but his wife and child they painted, and told Joggo, 
squaw, go home. They continued their course that 
day, and encamped the same night in the same man- 
ner as the previous. It came into my mind that 
sometimes individuals performed wonderful actions 

•2 1 



374 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and surmounted the greatest danger. I then decided 
that these fellows must die, and thought of the plan 
to despatch them. The next day I had an opportu- 
nity to communicate my plan to my fellow-prisoners. 
They treated it as a visionary scheme for three men 
to attempt to despatch ten Indians. I spread before 
them the advantages that three men would have over 
ten when asleep ; and that we would be the first pri- 
soners that would be taken into their towns and vil- 
lages after our army had destroyed their corn ; that 
we should be tied to the stake and suffer a cruel 
death. We had now an inch of ground to fight on, 
and if we failed it would only be death, and we might 
as well die one way as another. That day passed 
away, and, having encamped for the night, we lay as 
before. In the morning we came to the river, and 
saw their canoes. They had descended the river and 
run their canoes upon Little Tunkhannock creek, so 
called. They crossed the river and set their canoes 
adrift. I renewed my suggestion to my companions 
to despatch them that night, and urged them to 
decide the question. They agreed to make the trial; 
but how shall we do it ? was the question. Disarm 
them, and each take a tomahawk and come to close 
work at once. There are three of us; plant our 
blows with judgment, and three times three will 
make nine, and the tenth one we can kill at our 
leisure. They agreed to disarm them, and after that, 
one take possession of the guns and fire, at the one 
side of the four, and the other two take tomahawks 
on the other side and despatch them. I observed 



ESCAPE FROM THE IXDIAXS. 375 

that would be a very uncertain way. The first shot 
fired would give the alarm ; they would discover it 
to be the prisoners, and might defeat us. I had to 
yield to their plan. Peter Pence was chosen to fire 
the guns ; Pike and myself to tomahawk. We cut 
and carried plenty of wood to give them a good fire. 
The prisoners were tied and laid in their places. After 
I was laid down, one of them had occasion to use his 
knife : he dropped it at my feet ; I turned my foot 
over it and concealed it ; they all lay down and fell 
asleep. About midnight I got up and found them in 
a sound sleep. I slipped to Pence, who rose ; I cut 
him loose and handed him the knife; he did the 
same for me, and I in turn took the knife and cut 
Pike loose. In a minute's time we disarmed them. 
Pence took his station at the guns. Pike and myself 
with our tomahawks took our stations. I was to 
tomahawk three on the right wing, and Pike two on 
the left. That moment Pike's two awoke, and were 
getting up. Here Pike proved a coward and lay 
down. It was a critical moment. I saw there was 
no time to be lost ; their heads turned up fair ; I de- 
spatched them in a moment, and turned to my lot as 
per agreement, and, as I was about to despatch the 
last on my side of the fire. Pence shot and did good 
execution. There was only one at the off wing that 
his ball did not reach. His name was Mohawke, a 
stout, bold, daring fellow. In the alarm he jumped 
off about three rods from the fire. He saw it was 
the prisoners who made the attack, and, giving the 
war-whoop, he darted to take possession of the guns. 



876 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



I was as quick to prevent him ; the contest was then 
between him and myself. As I raised my tomahawk, 
he turned quick to jump from me. I followed him 
and struck at him ; but, missing his head, my 
tomahawk struck his shoulder, or rather the back of 
his neck. He pitched forward and fell ; at the same 
time my foot slipped, and I fell by his side. We 
clinched ; his arm was naked ; he caught me round 
my neck. At the same time I caught him with my 
left arm around the body, and gave him a close hug; 
at the same time feeling for his knife, but could not 
reach it. 

In our scuffle my tomahawk dropped out. My 
head was under the wounded shoulder, and almost 
suffocated me with his blood. I made a violent 
spring and broke from his hold. We both rose at 
the same time, and he ran. It took me some time 
to clear the blood from my eyes. My tomahawk had 
got covered up, and I could not find it in time to 
overtake him. He was the only one of the party 
that escaped. Pike was powerless. I always had a 
reverence for Christian devotion. Pike was trying 
to pray, and Pence swearing at him, charging him with 
cowardice, and saying it was no time to pray; he 
ought to fight. We were masters of the ground, and 
in possession of all their guns, blankets, match-coats, 
&c. I then turned my attention to scalping them, 
and recovering the scalps of my father, brother, and 
others. I strung them all on my belt for safe-keep- 
ing. We kept our ground till morning, and built a 
raft, it being near the bank of the river where they 



ESCAPE FROM THE INDIANS. 



877 



had encamped, about fifteen miles below Tioga Point. 
We got all our plunder on it, and set sail for Wyo- 
ming, the nearest settlement. Our raft gave way, 
when we made for land ; and we lost considerable 
property, though we saved our guns and ammunition, 
and took to land. We reached Wyalusing late in the 
afternoon. Came to the narrows ; discovered a smoke 
below, and a raft lying at the shore, by which we 
were certain that a party of Indians had passed us 
in the course of the day, and had halted for the night. 
There was no alternative for us but to rout them, or 
go over the mountain. The snow on the north side 
of the hill was deep. We knew from the appearance 
of the raft that the party must be small ; we had 
two rifles each ; my only fear was of Pike's coward- 
ice. To know the worst of it, we agreed that I 
should ascertain their number, and give the signal 
for the attack. I crept down the side of the hill so 
near as to see their fires and packs, but saw no In- 
dians. I concluded they had gone hunting for meat, 
and that this was a good opportunity for us to make 
off with their raft to the opposite side of the river. 
I gave the signal. They came and threw their packs 
on to the raft, which was made of small, dry pine 
timber. With poles and paddles we drove her briskly 
across the river, and had got nearly out of reach of 
shot when two of them came in. They fired ; their 
shots did no injury. We soon got under cover of an 
island, and went several miles. We had waded deep 
creeks through the day; the night was cold. We 

48 2i2 



378 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



landed on an island, and found a sink-liole, in which 
we made our fire. After warming, we were alarmed 
by a cracking in the crust. Pike supposed the In- 
dians had got on the island, and was for calling for 
quarters. To keep him quiet, we threatened him 
with his life. The stepping grew plainer, and seemed 
coming directly to the fire. I kept a watch, and soon 
a noble racoon came under the light. I shot the ra- 
coon, when Pike jumped up and called out, ^'Quar- 
ters, gentlemen ; quarters, gentlemen !" I took my 
game by the leg and threw it down by the fire. 
" Here, you cowardly rascal," I cried, " skin that and 
give us a roast for supper." The next night we 
reached Wyoming, and there was much joy to see 
us. We rested one day, and it being not safe to go 
to Northumberland by land, we procured a canoe, 
and, with Pence and my little cousin, we descended 
the river by night. We came to Fort Jenkins before 
day, where I found Colonel Kelly and about one hun- 
dred men encamped out of the fort. He came across 
from the west branch by the heads of ChiUisquake 
to Fishing creek, the end of the Nob mountain, so 
called at that day, where my father and brother were 
killed. He had buried my father and uncle. My 
brother was burnt, a small part of him only was to 
be found. Colonel Kelly informed me that my mother 
and her children were in the fort, and it was thought 
that I was killed likewise. Colonel Kelly went into 
the fort to prepare her mind to see me. I took off 
my belt of scalps and handed them to an officer to keep. 



EARLY SETTLERS OF BEDFORD COUNTY. 379 



Human nature was not sufficient to stand the inter- 
view. She had just lost a husband and a son, and 
one had returned to take her by the hand, and one, 
too, that she supposed was killed. 



0ad2 ^ttthx^ of mhUx% €mnt^. 

Many stories of Indian outrages and of daring per- 
sonal adventure with the savages are still preserved 
by descendants of the early settlers of Bedford. In 
1777, an attack was made upon the house of Mr. Tull, 
containing the old gentleman, his wife, and nine 
daughters, their only son being absent. A neighbour 
named Williams, and his son, were returning from 
some work on the road. Observing a smoke in the 
direction of Tull's house, they entered the garden. 
Here they found the old man just expiring, while near 
him lay an Indian paint-bag. They fled in terror to 
the fort; but next day a party returned to ascertain 
the fate of the survivors. The mother was found 
with the infant in her arms, both scalped, and at dif- 
ferent distances were the remaining children all dead 
and scalped except one, who it was supposed had 
been burned. 

About the same time, a rather singular circum- 
stance occurred in the neighbourhood of the Allegha- 
nies. A man, named Wells, after making considera- 
ble improvement, was obliged, through dread of the 
Indians, to retire with his family to the adjacent 



880 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



fort. In the fall he returned to dig his potatoes, tak- 
ing with him six or seven men, a girl to cook, and a 
horse. After finishing their job, they made prepara- 
tions to return on the following day. During the 
night, Wells dreamed that on his way he had been 
attacked and gored by a bull, and so strongly was he 
impressed by this circumstance, that he mentioned 
it to his companions together with his apprehension 
that something serious was about to occur. He again 
slept, and dreamed that, when about to shoot a deer, 
the main-spring of his gun broke, and he distinctly 
heard the crack of its spring. Lovers of the mar- 
vellous will be pleased to hear, that, on his arising 
and examining his gun, the main-spring actually did 
break. The party now became alarmed, and, hastily 
despatching their breakfast, set out for the fort. The 
girl had already been sent forward on the horse. On 
the road, five Indians suddenly rose before Wells, and 
advanced with extended hands. His companions 
immediately fled. Not liking the looks of the near- 
est Indian, Wells threw his useless rifle at him and 
ran. The Indians pursued; but, finding that he 
outran them, they suddenly stopped and fired. All 
the balls struck him, but without much eflect. Soon 
after he discovered his hidden companions, and beg- 
ged them to fire; but they were afraid. He next 
overtook the girl, who, comprehending his danger, 
dismounted, and exhorted him to save himself, while 
she hid amongst the bushes. Destitute of a whip, 
lie could get the horse only on a trot, and the Indians 
again got near enough to fire. One of the balls struck 



INDIAN ATTACK ON DOVER. 



381 



him in the hip, and lodged in his side. The report 
so frightened the horse that he started off at full gal- 
lop, thus enabhng his rider to escape. The Indians 
were afterwards pursued, and four of them killed. 



JEtt^tau 'Attack on Mebn, Hefe ^s:m^^Utt, 

In 1689, that part of the town of Dover, lying on 
the first falls of the river Cocheco, contained five 
garrisoned houses. These were surrounded by timber 
walls, the gates of which were secured by bolts and 
bars. The garrisons, or rather families of these 
places, seem to have relapsed into a state of imaginary 
safety, neglecting the precautions which, at that early 
day, could not be neglected without risk of surprise 
and massacre. The Indians, some of whom were 
constantly prowling about the neighbourhood, were 
not slow in discovering this criminal lethargy, nor in 
devising a plan to take advantage of it. Two of 
their women were to go to each of the garrisoned 
houses in the evening, and ask leave to lodge by the 
fire. At night, when all was hushed, they were to 
open the gates and give the signal by whistling ; upon 
which the assailants were to rush in and massacre 
or capture the garrisons. 

On the evening of Thursday, the 27th of June, 
1789, two squaws applied to each of the garrisons 
for lodging, as they frequently did in time of peace. 
They were admitted into all but the younger Coffin's, 



382 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and the people, at their request, showed them how to 
open the doors, in case they should have occasion to 
go out in the night. Mesandowit, one of their chiefs, 
went to Waldron's garrison, and was kindly enter- 
tained, as he had often been before. The squaws 
told the major that a number of Indians were com- 
ing to trade with him the next day, and Mesandowit, 
while at supper, with his usual familiarity, said, 
" Brother Waldron, what would you do if the strange 
Indians should come?" The major carelessly an- 
swered, that he could assemble a hundred men by 
lifting up his finger. In this unsuspecting confidence 
the family retired to rest. 

"When all was quiet, the gates were opened and 
the signal given. The Indians entered, set a guard 
at the door, and rushed into the major's apartment, 
which was an inner room. Awakened by the noise, 
he jumped out of bed, and, though now advanced in 
life to the age of eighty years, he retained so much 
vigour as to drive them with his sword through two 
or three doors ; but, as he was returning for his other 
arms, they came behind him, stunned him with a 
hatchet, drew him into his hall, and, seating him in 
an elbow chair on a long table, insultingly asked him, 
" Who shall judge Indians now ?" They then obliged 
the people in the house to get them some victuals, 
and, when they had done eating, they cut the major 
across the breast and belly with knives, each one* 
with a stroke, saying, " I cross out my account." 
They then cut off his nose and ears, forcing them 
into his mouth, and, when spent with the loss of 



INDIAN ATTACK ON DOVER. 



883 



blood, he was falling down from the table, one of 
them held his own sword under him, which put an 
end to his misery. They also killed his son-in-law, 
Abraham Lee ; but took his daughter Lee with seve- 
ral others, and, having pillaged the house, set it on 
fire. Otis's garrison, which was next to the major's, 
met with the same fate. He was killed, with several 
others, and his wife and child were made prisoners. 
Heard's was saved by the barking of a dog just as 
the Indians were entering. Elder Wentworth, who 
was awakened by the noise, pushed them out, and 
falling on his back set his feet against the gate, and 
held it till he had alarmed the people ; two balls 
were fired through it, but both missed him. Coffin's 
house was surprised ; but, as the Indians had no par- 
ticular enmity to him, they spared his life and the 
lives of his family, and contented themselves with 
pillaging the house. Finding a bag of money, they 
made him throw it by handfuls on the floor, while 
they amused themselves in scrambling for it. They 
then went to the house of his son, who would not 
admit the squaws in the evening, and summoned him 
to surrender, promising him quarter. He declined 
their offer, and determined to defend his house, till 
they brought out his father and threatened to kill 
him before his eyes. Filial affection then overcame 
his resolution, and he surrendered. They pat both 
families together into a deserted house, intending to 
reserve them for prisoners ; but, while the Indians 
were busy in plundering, they all escaped. 

Twenty-three people were killed in this surprisal, 



884 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and twenty-nine were taken captive ; five or six houses, 
with the mills, were burned ; and so expeditious were 
the Indians in the execution of their plot, that, be- 
fore the people could be collected from the other parts 
of the town to oppose them, they fled with their pri- 
soners and booty. As they passed by Heard's garri- 
son, in their retreat, they fired upon it ; but the peo- 
ple being prepared and resolved to defend it, and the 
enemy being in haste, it was preserved. The pre- 
servation of its owner was more remarkable. 

Elizabeth Heard, with her three sons and a daugh- 
ter, and some others, were returning in the night 
from Portsmouth. They passed up the river in their 
boat, unperceived by the Indians, who were then in 
possession of the houses ; but, suspecting danger by 
the noise which they heard, after they had landed, 
they betook themselves to Waldron's garrison, where 
they saw lights, which they imagined were set up for 
direction to those who might be seeking a refuge. 
They knocked and begged earnestly for admission; 
but, no answer being given, a young man of the com- 
pany climbed up the wall, and saw, to his inexpressi- 
ble surprise, an Indian standing in the door of the 
house with his gun. The woman was so overcome 
with the fright that she was unable to fly ; but beg- 
ged her children to shift for themselves, and they 
with heavy hearts left her. When she had a little 
recovered, she crawled into some bushes, and lay 
there till day-light. She then perceived an Indian 
coming toward her with a pistol in his hand ; he 
looked at her and went away. Keturning, he looked 



INDIAN ATTACK ON DOVER. 



385 



at her again, and she asked him what he would have. 
He made no answer, but ran yelling to the house, and 
she saw him no more. She kept her place till the 
house was burned and the Indians were gone, and 
then, returning home, found her own house safe. Her 
preservation in these dangerous circumstances was 
more remarkable, if, as it is supposed, it was an in- 
stance of justice and gratitude in the Indians; for, 
at the time when the four hundred were seized in 
1676, a young Indian escaped and took refuge in 
her house, where she concealed him. In return for 
which kindness he promised her that he would never 
kill her, nor any of her family in any future war, 
and that he would use his influence with the other 
Indians to the same purpose. This Indian was one 
of the party who surprised the place, and she was 
well known to most of them. 

The same day, after the mischief was done, a leir 
ter from Secretary Addington, written by order of the 
government, directed to Major Waldron, giving him 
notice of the intention of the Indians to surprise him 
under pretence of trade, fell into the hands of his 
son. This design was communicated to Governor 
Bradstreet by Major Henchman of Chelmsford, who 
had learned it of the Indians. The letter was de- 
spatched from Boston the day before by Mr. Weare ; 
but some delay, which he met with at Newbury ferry, 
prevented its arrival in season. 

The prisoners taken at this time were mostly car- 
ried to Canada and sold to the French ; and these, it 

49 2K 



386 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



would appear, were the first that ever were carried 
thither. 

One of these prisoners was Sarah Gerrish, a re- 
markably fine child of seven years old, and grand- 
daughter of Major Waldron, in whose house she 
lodged that fatal night. Some circumstances attend- 
ing her captivity are truly affecting. When she was 
awakened by the noise of the Indians in the house, 
she crept into another bed and hid herself under the 
clothes to escape their search. She remained in their 
hands till the next winter, and was sold from one 
to another several times. An Indian girl once 
pushed her into a river ; but, catching by the bushes, 
she escaped drowning, yet durst not tell how she 
came to be wet. Once she was so weary with tra- 
velling that she did not awake in the morning till the 
Indians were gone, and then found herself alone in 
the woods, covered with snow and without any food. 
Having found their tracks, she went crying after them 
till they heard her and took her with them. At an- 
other time, they kindled a great fire, and the young 
Indians told her she was to be roasted. She burst 
into tears, threw her arms rqund her master's neck, 
and begged him to save her, which he promised to do 
if she would behave well. Being arrived in Canada, 
she was bought by the Intendant's lady, who treated 
her courteously and sent her to a nunnery for educa- 
tion. But when Sir William Phips was at Quebec, 
she was exchanged and returned to her friends, with 
whom she lived till she was sixteen years old. 

The wife of Richard Otis was taken at the same 



INDIAN GRATITUDE FOR FAVOURS. 387 



time, with an infant daughter of three months old. 
The French priests took this child under their care, 
baptized her by the name of Christina, and educated 
her in the Komish religion. She passed some time in 
a nunnery, but declined taking the veil, and was 
married to a Frenchman, by whom she had two chil- 
dren. But her desire to see New England was so 
strong, that, upon an exchange of prisoners in 1714, 
being then a widow, she left both her children, who 
were not permitted to come with her, and returned 
home, where she abjured the Komish faith. 



The following anecdote displays a singular medley 
of cruelty and gratitude. It is refreshing to meet 
with instances of lenity, even though in the midst 
of slaughter; for light never appears so bright as 
when contrasted with a dark ground. 

During the old French war, a Mr. Schoonhover, 
with six or seven other Americans, was captured by 
Indians while journeying from Fort William Henry 
to Sandy Hill. They were led to what is now the 
middle of Sandy Hill, and seated one by one on a log. 
The Indians then began at one end and deliberately 
split the skulls of the prisoners with their toma- 
hawks, each feeling the stroke which murdered his 
neighbour before he received his own. Schoonhover 
was the last but one. The work of death had 



388 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



reached him, and the hatchet was already lifted, 
when the butchery was suddenly stopped. A chief 
approaching him, mildly said : " Do you not remem- 
ber that, when your young men were dancing, poor 
Indians came and wanted to dance too ? Your young 
men said ' No, Indians shall not dance with us but 
you said, ' Indians shall dance/ Now, I will show 
you that Indians can remember kindness." It is 
needless to add, that Schoonhover was spared, to- 
gether with his trembling companion. 



In 1703, the town of "Wells, in Maine, was attacked 
by Indians. Stephen Harding, a resident on the op- 
posite side of the river, heard the firing, but supposed 
that it originated from a company of soldiers exercis- 
ing. On the following morning, he prepared to go 
a hunting ; but his wife begged him to stay, because, 
during the night, two men, as she thought, had looked 
in at the window. Convinced that this was the effect 
of imagination, he went over to his shop to wait for 
breakfast. On the road he observed a crowd of per- 
sons on a neighbouring height, and, being now 
alarmed, he returned to his house and told his wife to 
carry their child, about a year old, across Gooch's 
creek, and remain under a particular oak until he 
could ascertain what was the matter. He then went 



ESCAPE FROM INDIANS. 



38& 



to his shop, beat on the side of it with an axe, and 
gave the war-whoop. Suddenly four Indians started 
up from their hiding-places, and ran toward the door. 
Harding escaped on the other side. In passing 
through an adjacent corn-field, and when within a 
short distance of the house, he found his wife, who 
was too much frightened to run. He caught her 
under one arm and the child under the other, and 
aimed for the creek. Though it was at flood-tide, he 
safely forded it, and, placing his charge under an 
oak, he returned to ascertain the disposition of the 
Indians, still hoping it might be friendly. On the 
way he met an enormous bear, which obliged him 
again to seek his family, and set out with them to- 
ward one of the Wells forts. A small dog was killed 
lest it might betray them by its barking. At night 
they reached the top of a hill, where they remained 
until morning, feeding upon berries. The next 
evening they reached Storer's garrison, the inmates 
of which were asleep. From this circumstance, 
Harding imagined that he had left his house without 
sufficient cause, and was about retracing his steps, 
when the cries of women and children for the loss 
of their relatives convinced him that he had not 
yielded to a false alarm. 

Meanwhile, the Indians had pulled up all the corn 
in search of the fugitive ; but afterwards gave up the 
pursuit, affirming that he was as good an Indian as 
themselves. They did not injure the house ; but 
killed his hogs and took all the clothing and bedding, 
throwing away the feathers of the latter. Their ob- 

2 k2 



390 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ject was to take him alive and convey him to the set- 
tlements in Canada^ where his trade as a blacksmith 
would render him of great service to them. Afterwards 
the Indians crossed the river and killed the wife and 
three children of William Larrabee, who lived in the 
field near what are called Butler's rocks. Larrabee was 
at work on the marsh. Perceiving two Indians running 
toward him, he concealed himself among the bushes. 
After they had given up the search, he crept toward 
the house, and saw the party regaling themselves 
upon the provisions taken from his house. Near him 
his wife and two children were lying dead. The other 
child was not quite dead, but raised its head several 
times. 

The Indians next proceeded to the house of Philip 
Durrill. From thence they took away Mrs. Durrill, her 
two daughters, Susan and Rachel, and two sons, one 
an infant. The Indians carried their prisoners as far 
as Peywacket or Fryeburg, when Mrs. Durrill per- 
suaded them to let her return with her infant. One 
of the Indians carried her child for her to the stone 
fort at Saco, from which place she returned home. 
The other son was accidentally drowned in Saco; 
the daughters married Frenchmen, and refused to 
return after the war was over. 



MURDER OF A FAMILY. 



391 



In 1723, the family of Aaron Kawlins, on Samprey 
river, New Hampshire, was attacked by Indians, and 
himself and eldest daughter murdered, under circum- 
stance of great barbarity. At that time the people 
generally retired at night to the garrisoned houses, 
and returned home in the daytime. On the evening 
of August 29, they neglected this precaution. At 
this time eighteen Indians were in the neighbourhood, 
and observing the defenceless condition of the family, 
imanediately resolved on an attack. Mrs. Rawlins, 
going to the door, was seized, together with two of her 
children. Her husband closed the door, and with his 
eldest daughter, about twelve years old, began firing 
upon the assailants, calling to his neighbours for help. 
They were afraid to venture out ; and the unhappy 
man was at length killed by a random shot through 
the door. The Indians then broke into the house, 
killed the daughter, cut off her head, and scalped her 
father. His wife and two children, a son and a 
daughter, were carried to Canada. In a few years 
Mrs. Rawlins was redeemed. The son was adopted 
by the Indians, and lived. After peace had been de- 
clared, he came into Pennycook with some of his red 
companions, and expressed to some people with whom 
he conversed, much resentment against his uncle 
Samuel Rawlins, on account of some property which, 
as he supposed, had been detained from his mother. 
The daughter married a Frenchman, and when nearly 



392 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



sixty years old, returned with him to her native 
place, in expectation of receiving the patrimony which 
she imagined was left her by her father. But the 
estate had been sold by her grandfather's administra- 
tor, and after a year or two she went back to Canada. 



The impossibilit}^ of studying the Indian character 
and Indian customs where they ought to be studied, 
among their native wilds, must ever prove a serious 
obstacle to their proper representation. It was a 
noble thought of our countryman, Mr. Catlin, to re- 
ject those partial and meagre records concerning our 
aborigines which were current during his youth, and 
to resolve upon seeing the Indian in his own element, 
surrounded with all the mighty works of which he is 
a part. He found the Indian, in civilized life, a soli- 
tary, degraded wanderer, without a country, without 
a home, without a friend, his hand against every man 
and every man's hand against him. He journeyed to 
the prairies of the West. There the Indian was 
another being — the lord of creation, the member of a 
race of heroes, to which those of Homer and Tasso 
are tame; the champion of feats at which the white 
man would shudder. There, amid new laws and 
noble scenery, the Indian is the civilized man; and the 
European, the wandering, dejected outcast. It is for 
this reason that Mr. Catlin's book is of all books 



DA^'CE OF OJIBBEWAY INDIANS. 393 

about Indians the most instructive and amusing. It 
takes for granted that the Indian is a man — a real 
man like ourselves, has affections and feelings like 
other men ; having love for friends, gratitude for fa- 
vours, sensibility for kindness, as other men have. 
The author went among populous tribes, some of them 
smarting under injuries lately received, armed not 
with rifle and scalping knife, but with a palette. He 
loved the Indian character, he mourned over their 
coming fate, and he appeared among their tribes as a 
friend. As a friend they welcomed him. The distinc- 
tion of colour was forgotten ; the memory of past in- 
juries was forgotten. The white man was admitted to 
every wigwam, shared every hunt and every ceremony. 
He was even installed a medicine-man, and admitted to 
the great ceremonial feasts. Can we wonder that he 
learned to love the poor Indian, or that his narrative 
forces us also to love them? 

On returning to the Eastern States, Mr. Catlin ex- 
hibited his gallery of Indian paintings in New York. 
Afterwards he went with it to London ; while there, 
he was surprised by a visit from a party of Ojibbe- 
way Indians, who not long after were followed by a 
party of loways. These were exhibited in the same 
building with his paintings, and met with the greatest 
favour from all classes of the English people. Dur- 
ing the exhibitions they gave the white people an 
opportunity to enjoy sights, and we may add to hear 
noises which their forefathers had neither seen nor 
heard. The displays were truly Indian ; and taught 
the spectators more of the real Indian character in 

50 



394 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



one night than all the books of Indians then in the 
kingdom could have done, Mr. Catlin's book always 
excepted. 

Some of these performances, with their attendant 
incidents, were no less amusing than instructive. The 
following is Catlin's account of their first appearance 
at the Exchange Buildings, Manchester : — " On the 
same evening, by our announcements, they were to 
make their first appearance in my exhibition, and at an 
early hour the Rooms were filled, and we were obliged 
to close the doors. I had erected a strong platform in 
the middle of my room, on which the Indians were to 
give their dances, and having removed all seats from 
the room, every part of the floor was covered as dense- 
ly as it was possible for men and women to be grouped 
together. Into the midst of this mass the party dashed 
in Indian file, with shield and bow and quiver slung — 
with war-clubs and tomahawks in hand, as they 
sounded the frightful war-whoop and were endeavour- 
ing to reach the platform. The frightened crowd, with 
screams and yells as frightful nearly as those of the 
Indians, gave way, and they soon had a free passage 
to the platform, upon which they leaped, without 
looking for the flight of steps prepared for them, and 
were at full length before the staring, gaping multi- 
tude. They were in a moment seated, and were pass- 
ing their pipe around, while I was^ by a brief lecture, 
introducing them, and the modes they were to illus- 
trate to the audience. 

" I described the country and the tribe they be- 
longed to, and the objects for which they had crossed 



DANCE OF OJIEBEWAY INDIANS. 397 

the Atlantic ; and also expressed to the audience the 
happy opportunity it was affording me of corroborat- 
ing the many assertions I had been heretofore making 
relative to the looks and modes of those people, many 
of which I was fully aware were difl&cult of compre- 
hension. Having done this, I should leave the In- 
dians to entertain the audience with such of their 
dances and other amusements as they might decide 
upon, and endeavour to stand by and explain each 
amusement as they gave it, feeling abundantly able 
to do so from a residence of eight years among the 
various tribes in America. 

" There was a shout of applause at the close of my 
remarks, and the most impatient anxiety evinced on 
all sides to see the commencement of the curious 
tricks which were just ready to be introduced. At 
this moment, with a sudden yell, the men all sprung 
upon their feet ; their weapons brandished and their 
buffalo robes thrown back, while the women and chil- 
dren seated themselves at the end of the platform. 
Another shrill yell of the war-whoop, with the flou- 
rish of their weapons, and the medicine-man or doctor 
commenced with tambour (or drum) and his voice 
upon the war-song; and they were all off in the 
dance. At the first rest, when they suddenly stopped, 
there was but one mingled roar of applause, which 
showed to the poor fellows that they had made ' a 
hit,' and were to be received with great kindness and 
interest. This stimulated them to finish it with 
spirit ; and when it was done, and they were seated 
a few moments to rest, hundreds were ambitious to 

2L 



398 



THRILLING ADVENTURES 



crowd up to them and offer them their hands. It 
was with great difficulty that I could get the audience 
quiet enough to hear my explanations of the war- 
dance — its meaning, and the objects and character of 
the war-whoop which they had just heard. I gained 
the patience of the crowd by promising them a num- 
ber of dances and other amusements, all of which I 
would render instructive by my explanations, and 
afford all, in the remotest parts of the room, an op- 
portunity to shake hands with the Indians when their 
amusements were finished. 

" After my explanations and their pipe were fin- 
ished, they arose and gave the Wa-he-no dance, as 
they call it. Wa-he-no, in the Ojibbeway language, 
means mystery, and their mystery-dance is one of 
their choicest dances, only given at some occasion of 
their mystery-feasts, or for the accomplishment of some 
mysterious design. This dance is amusing and gro- 
tesque, and made much merriment among the audi- 
ence. I explained the meaning of this also, and they 
afterwards gave some surprising illustrations of the 
mode of catching and throwing the ball in their fa- 
vourite game of ball-play, with their ball-sticks in 
their hands. The astonishing quickness and certainty 
with which they throw and catch the ball in their 
rackets eUcited immense applause; and after this 
they gave the ^ scalp-dance,' which is given when a 
party returns from war, having brought home scalps 
taken from their enemies' heads, and preserved as 
trophies by the victors. In this dance the women, 
occupying the centre, hold up the scalps, attached to 



DANCE OF OJIBBEWAY INDIANS. 



399 



the tops of little poles, while men who have come 
from war dance around in a circle, brandishing their 
weapons, gnashing their teeth, and yelling the war- 
whoop at the highest key of their voices. At the 
close of this terrifying dance, which seemed to come 
lust up to the anxiety of the excited audience, there 
was a tremendous roar of applause, and, in the midst 
of the uproar, an old gentleman took from his pocket 
a beautifully chased silver tobacco-box, and handing 
it to me, desired me to give it to the old chief, and 
tell him to carry his tobacco in it. I handed it to the 
old man, and, as he had seen the hand that gave it, 
he sprang upon his feet, as if he were but a boy, and 
reaching out his hand, grasped, over the heads of the 
audience, the hand of the venerable old gentleman, 
who told him ^ he was happy to see him, and to make 
him a little present to recollect him by.' The old 
chief straightened up and squared himself upon the 
platform, throwing his buffalo robe over his left 
shoulder and passing it forward under his right arm 
and into his left hand ; and with the most benignant 
smile (as he turned his box a moment under his eye, 
and passed it into his left hand) commenced — ' My 
friends, though I am old I thank the Great Spirit for 
giving me strength to say a few words to you. He 
has allowed me to live many years, and I believe it is 
because I thank him for all his gifts. His eye was 
upon us when we were on the great salt lake, and he 
has brought us here safe, for which we all are thank- 
ful. He has directed you all to come here this night 
and to be so kind to us, for we had done nothing to 



400 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



make you come. We have long heard of the Sag-Or 
noshes,^ and we have been anxious to come and see 
them. We have fought for them and with them, and 
our fathers and brothers have bled for them. There 
are many of the Sag-a-noshes among us, and we love 
them. The Great Spirit has smiled upon our under- 
taking, and he has guided the hand of my brother to 
make me this present. My friends, my heart is warm 
and I am thankful. We have now done our dancing 
and singing, and we offer you our hands in friend- 
ship.' At this there was a rush towards the platform 
from every part of the room to shake the hands of 
the Indians, who had seated themselves on the front 
of the platform for the purpose. 

" These greetings for half an hour or so were ex- 
ceedingly warm ; and to make them more impressive, 
several persons deposited in their hands valuable 
trinkets and money, which they received with thanks." 

During the second night's performance, a most 
laughable scene took place between the Indians and 
the fair portion of his audience. To the general 
reader the narrative of it may perhaps afford unmixed 
amusement ; the more reflecting will perhaps dis- 
cover in it some indications that the Indian character 
is not that stoical thing, indifferent alike to pleasure 
and pain, that many have hitherto represented it : 

" The room was filled long before they made their 
appearance ; and in the roar and confusion of ap- 
plause at the end of their amusements, there was a 
cry from the end of the room, ^Let some of them 



* Euglishmen. 



DANCE OF OJIBBEWAY INDIANS. 401 

come this way — we can't get near them — we can't 
tell whether they are in their own skins or in flesh- 
ings.' And another hallooed out, ' Let that handsome 
little fellow come here, (alluding to Samali, who was 
a very fine-looking young man here is a ladj^ who 
wants to kiss him !' 

" This being interpreted to him, he leaped into and 
through the crowd, (as he would dash into the river 
that he was to ford,) and had his naked arms around 
her neck and kissed her before there was any time 
for an explanation. The excitement and screaming 
and laughing among the women in that part of the 
room made kissing fashionable, and every one who 
laid her hand upon his arm or his naked shoulders 
(and those not a few) got a kiss, gave a scream, and 
presented him a brooch, a ring, or some other keep- 
sake, and went home with a streak of red paint on 
her face, and perhaps with one or two of black or 
green upon her dress. The gallant little fellow 
squeezed himself through this dense crowd, kissing 
old and young as he went, and returned to the plat- 
form, from which he held up and displayed his tro- 
phies with much satisfaction. 

" I felt it my duty to reprimand him for his rude- 
ness, and told him it was not fashionable in such 
crowds to kiss the ladies ; to which he replied, that 
^ he knew what he was about — the white ladies are 
very pretty and very sweet, and I gave my kisses 
only where they were asked for.' The response all 
over the house was that ' he had done right ; good 
little fellow, he has done no harm.' — A voice, ^ No, 

51 2l2 



402 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

no harm, indeed ; I'll kiss him again if he will come 
down, charming little fellow !' — He was in the act of 
leaping off, when Cadotte, the interpreter, seized him 
by the arm and turned him back." 



The following narrative of the murder of two far 
milies on the Tennessee river, (April 22, 1812,) dis- 
plays in the most glaring light the cruelties of the 
savage breast, when, through long-concealed hatred 
and the desire of revenge, it has banished or sup- 
pressed every nobler feeling of untutored nature. 

In 1812, the dread of an attack from the southern 
Indians obliged the inhabitants of Humphreys county 
to collect in parties of fifteen or twenty, comprising 
sometimes several families in one house. For this 
purpose John Crawley had gone with his family to 
the house of Jesse Manly. The family of Crawley 
consisted of a wife and four children ; Manly's, of a 
wife and three children. The evening before the at- 
tack, Manly and Crawley were both called from 
home, taking Crawley's eldest son with them. They 
had employed C. Hays, a promising young man, to 
stay at the house until their return. Early next 
morning he had saddled his horse, and had proceeded 
about one hundred yards from the house, when the 
Indians, who were concealed behind the fence, fired 
upon him. He received two mortal wounds. While 



MURDER OF A FAMILY IN TENNESSEE. 403 

one of the Indians was scalping him, the other four 
ran into the house. One of Manly's children, outside 
of the house, was torn in pieces by their dogs, and 
afterwards scalped. 

They now forced the door, and, snatching Mrs. 
Manly 's child, only eight days old, from her, scalped 
it and threw it into the fire. An indiscriminate 
butchery of the other children followed, until five 
had been scalped and murdered. 

Mrs. Manly was the last victim. After shooting 
her, they scalped her and committed atrocious bar- 
barities on her body. They then left the house, tak- 
ing Mrs. Crawley along as prisoner. About four hours 
after the Indians were gone, the neighbours got infor- 
mation of the murder and collected at the house. 
They found Mrs. Manly alive and in her perfect 
senses. Amidst the carnage, one of Mrs. Crawley's 
children escaped unhurt. During the attack upon 
the house, she had the presence of mind to raise a 
portion of the floor, and throw her child into the 
cellar. 



404 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




The Sioux Indians are the dread of all the nu- 
merous tribes scattered from Canada to Mexico, and 
from Council Bluffs to the Kockj Mountains. In 
numbers, in skill, and in ferocity, they are unequalled 
by any save the Camanches. The depredations about 
to be described were committed by them during the 
late war between the United States and Mexico. 

On the 16 th of December, 1846, a band of Sioux 
encountered some Omaha Indians near Council Bluffs. 
A battle ensued, in which the Omahas, being few in 
number, were worsted. The Sioux then entered the 
village and butchered sixty women and children. Four 
days previous, a war-party of Sioux had invaded the 
Omaha country, situated sixty miles from Belle vieu. 



DEPREDATIONS BY THE SIOUX. 405 

They found none there but women and children, the 
warriors having gone on a hunt. At once the work 
of death commenced. The slaughter was indiscrimi- 
nate and terrible. Seventy-three were killed and 
nineteen mortally wounded. Some white families, 
living with the Omahas, and whose male members 
were found in the village, shared in the massacre. 
Only two of them escaped — one of them, Joseph La- 
fleche, a trader in the employ of Mr. Peter A. Sarpy, 
and at that time in charge of a stock of goods. He 
arrived at Bellevieu with both feet frozen, having run 
the whole distance barefoot. Mr. Sarpy and the 
agent. Major Miller, despatched a party of men to 
ascertain the facts. They soon returned with the 
melancholy news. The scalped and murdered ones 
had been found ; property, household goods, the pro- 
ductions of the field, had been destroyed or carried 
away. The snow for miles around was strewn with 
broken articles and tracked with blood. The village 
resembled a slaughter house. Five of the Sioux had 
been stabbed by the Omaha women. A few days 
before this tragic event, the Omahas had been at- 
tacked by a war-party of Ayouas under a celebrated 
chief. White Cloud. On that occasion, they had four 
warriors wounded and one woman killed. In the 
same month, the Sioux and Osages held a council to 
deliberate upon a plan for uniting their forces and in- 
fluence against the United States — possibly under the 
hope of obtaining aid from Mexico. 

In 1847, the Sioux commenced a war of extermi- 
nation against the Ottoes and Pawnees. In Septem- 



406 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ber, they visited a building called the farmer's 
house/' in the Pawnee village^ and destroyed a black- 
smith's shop, together with some tools and furniture. 
On the 17th of the same month, they attacked an 
Ottoe village, destroyed all the corn in the fields, 
killed twenty of the tribe, and burned the village. 
At the same time, they threatened the American 
garrison at Fort Kearny, ravaged and laid waste all 
the surrounding country, and drove the tribes hostile 
to them from their usual hunting-grounds. On the 
26th of May, seven of their warriors entered the 
Ottoe country and concealed themselves near a field 
which the Ottoes had prepared for planting their corn. 
Three squaws, who were approaching the village, 
were fired upon. Two fell dead ; the other gave the 
alarm. The warriors rushed out and pursued the 
Sioux, who fled into a large weed brake. This the 
Ottoes surrounded and set on fire, and, as the mur- 
derers attempted to escape, they were massacred 
without mercy. The war between these tribes is still 
raging, (1849.) 



Catlin gives an astonishing account of the skill 
with which the Camanche Indians of northern Texas 
manage their horses. 

The Camanches, like the northern tribes, have 
many games, and in pleasant weather seem to be 



INDIAN HORSEMANSHIP. 



409 



continually practising more or less of them on the 
prairies back of and contiguous to their village. 

In their ball-plays and some other games, they are 
far behind the Sioux and others of the northern 
tribes ; but, in racing horses and riding, they are not 
equalled by any other Indians on the continent. Eacing 
horses, it would seem, is a constant and almost inces- 
sant exercise, and their principal mode of gambling; 
and perhaps a more finished set of jockeys are not to 
be found. The exercise of these people, in a country 
where horses are so abundant and the country so fine 
for riding, is chiefly done on horseback ; and it " stands 
to reason" that such a people, who have been practising 
from their childhood, should become exceedingly ex- 
pert in this wholesome and beautiful exercise. Among 
their feats of riding, there is one that has astonished 
me more than any thing of the kind I have ever 
seen, or expect to see, in my life — a stratagem of war 
learned and practised by every young man in the 
tribe, by which he is able to drop his body upon 
the side of his horse at the instant he is passing, 
effectually screened from his enemies' weapons as he 
lies in a horizontal position behind the body of his 
horse, with his heel hanging over the horse's back, 
by which he has the power of throwing himself up 
again, and changing to the other side of the horse if 
necessary. In this wonderful condition he will hang 
while his horse is at fullest speed, carrying with him 
his bow and his shield, and also his long lance of 
fourteen feet in length, all or either of which he will 
wield upon his enemy as he passes, rising and throw- 

52 2 M 



410 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



ing his arrows over the horse's back, or, with equal 
ease and equal success, under the horse's neck. 

Since writing the above, I have conversed with 
some of the young men of the Pawnees, who practise 
the same feat, and who told me they could throw the 
arrow from under the horse's belly, and elevate it 
upon an enemy with deadly effect ! 

This feat I did not see performed; but, from what 
I did see, I feel inclined to believe that these young 
men were boasting of no more than they were able 
to perform. 

This astonishing feat, which the young men have 
been repeatedly playing off to our surprise as well as 
amusement, while they have been galloping about in 
front of our tents, completely puzzled the whole of 
us, and appeared to be the result of magic rather than 
of skill acquired by practice. I had several times 
great curiosity to approach them to ascertain by what 
means their bodies could be suspended in this man- 
ner, where nothing could be seen but the heel hang- 
ing over the horse's back. In these endeavours, I was 
continually frustrated, until one day I coaxed a young 
fellow up within a little distance of me by offering 
him a few plugs of tobacco, and he in a moment 
solved the difficulty, so far as to render it apparently 
more feasible than before ; yet leaving it one of the 
most extraordinary results of practice and persever- 
ing endeavours. I found on examination that a short 
hair-halter was passed around under the neck of the 
horse, and both ends tightly braided into the mane 
on the withers, leaving a loop to hang under the 



INDIAN HORSEMANSHIP. 



411 



neck and against the breast, which, being caught up 
in the hand, makes a sling into which the elbow falls, 
taking the weight of the body on the middle of the 
upper arm. Into this loop the rider drops suddenly 
and fearlessly, leaving his heel to hang over the back 
of the horse to steady him, and also to restore him 
when he wishes to gain his upright position on the 
horse's back. 

Besides this wonderful art, these people have seve- 
ral other feats of horsemanship, which they are con- 
tinually showing off ; which are pleasing and extra- 
ordinary, and of which they seem very proud. A 
people who spend so very great a part of their lives 
actually on their horses' backs, must needs become 
exceedingly expert in every thing that pertains to 
riding, to war, or to the chase ; and I am ready, with- 
out hesitation, to pronounce the Camanches the most / 
extraordinary horsemen that I have seen yet in all 
my travels, and I doubt very much whether any peo- 
ple in the world can surpass them. 



412 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




During the Eevolutionary War the British were 
never more sanguine of ultimate success than at the 
period when General Burgoyne was marching from 
Canada to New York. The progress of that officer 
from the St. Lawrence to Vermont was a series of 
rapid triumphs. No American army could be brought 
against him; towns and villages were deserted at his 
approach ; all the south of New England was in con- 
fusion, and it was confidently anticipated that the 
army at New York would soon join him, and thus 
cut off all communication between the Middle States 
and the North. 

The turning point of this splendid career was Ben- 
nington ; yet previous to that battle, the indefatiga- 
ble energy of General Schuyler had nearly completed 
the plan which ultimately ruined Burgoyne. One 



BATTLE OF ORISKANY. 



413 



portion of this plan was the defence of Fort Schuyler. 
The garrison, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel 
Gansevoortj was besieged by a large body of British 
Tories and Indians, led by St. Leger, but behaving with 
heroic courage, their savage enemies were driven off 
with shame and heavy loss. It was while advancing 
to relieve the garrison, that General Herkimer, with 
the militia of Tryon county, New York, was surprised 
by the enemy, his march arrested, and himself mor- 
tally wounded. 

The battle was fought August 6, 1777. Fired by 
the atrocities of the Indians, the militia collected from 
all quarters, and, led by General Herkimer, marched 
hastily toward the scene of action. On the 5th, they 
reached Oriskany, and next morning the general an- 
nounced his intention of remaining there to await re- 
inforcements. This prudent precaution was over- 
ruled ; officers and men clamoured to be led against the 
enemy, and accused their leader of cowardice. Yield- 
ing to their importunities, he gave orders to advance, 
and the party again moved forward in high spirits 
with much confusion. After marching about two 
miles, they reached a gentle accHvity, bounded by a 
deep ravine, which, after crossing the road from north 
to south, swept toward the east so as to enclose a 
semicircle. The bottom of this ravine was marshy, 
and the road crossed it by means of a causeway. At 
this place, St. Leger, having heard of Herkimer's ap- 
proach, had posted a force of Indians and Tories under 
Butler and Brant, to oppose him. They occupied 
the rising ground parallel to the ravine, and were so 

2 m2 



414 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



arranged in a circle, having only one small gap 
through which the Americans could march. 

Before leaving Oriskany, Herkimer determined to 
send forward scouts to clear the road ; but the design 
was either neglected or abandoned. The militia ad- 
vanced with blind speed into the enemy's midst ; and 
were roused from their fatal indifference only by the 
Indian war-whoop. They found themselves within 
the fatal circle, the opening to which was immediate- 
ly closed. The rear guard alone were excluded, but 
they fled at the first fire. The devoted band received 
a galling fire which completely broke their ranks; 
their general fell wounded in the early part of the 
action, and the savages, sure of success, were prepar- 
ing to charge with the tomahawk. Haj)pily Herki- 
mer was still able to direct the battle ; his men formed 
into circles, or, placed back to back, received the In- 
dians on the points of their knives and bayonets, and 
the terrible scene commenced of a conflict hand to 
hand with infuriated savages. Personal danger seemed 
forgotten in the struggle, and the work of butchery 
was arrested only by a heavy storm. The enemy re- 
tired to some neighbouring trees, and General Herki- 
mer formed his men in a circle. In the early part of 
the battle, if an American fired a gun from behind a 
tree, an Indian rushed up and tomahawked him be- 
fore he could reload. Herkimer now placed two men 
at a single tree, one to reserve his fire until an Indian 
ran up as before. 

After an hour's intermission, the battle was re- 
newed. The Americans received the charge with 



FIGHT BETWEEN CROWS AND BLACKFEET. 415 



firmness, while their hidden marksmen picked off so 
many of the savages, that they began to give way. 
At this moment, a fresh body of Tories, known as 
Johnson's Greens, arrived. The greatest part of these 
men were personally known to the Americans, a cir- 
cumstance which increased their former fury to mad- 
ness. After discharging his piece, each man sprang 
upon his selected victim, throttled or stabbed him and 
rushed upon another. The field was covered with 
groups of friends and foes, each grasped in his enemy's 
embrace. This obstinate resistance discouraged the 
Indians, who soon broke and fled in disorder. They 
were soon followed by the main body, thus leaving 
the militia masters of the field. 

In this severe struggle the Americans lost two hun- 
dred, or, according to Marshall, four hundred men. 
The British loss was equally heavy. General Her- 
kimer was removed from the field on a litter, and con- 
veyed to his house on the Mohawk, where his leg 
was amputated. The operation was unskilfully per- 
formed, and in a few days he died. He was buried 
near his own house in the town of Danube. 



In June, 1845, a party of about seven hundred 
Crow Indians were driven from their own country by 
the Sioux, to the vicinity of fort F. A. C. near the 
Falls of the Missouri. On the 17th they encountered 



416 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



a small party of Blackfeet warriors, whom they im- 
mediately attacked. Notwithstanding the great dis- 
parity in numbers, the battle was fierce and bloody. 
Twenty-two of the Blackfeet were killed, and one 
hundred women and children carried away, together 
with three hundred horses. At this moment they 
beheld the main body of their party approaching; 
the battle was renewed with terrible fury, and the 
Crows, though superior in number^ were in their turn 
driven back. They retreated to a strongly fortified 
spot, carrying with them the horses and goods. Most 
of the prisoners escaped. The Blackfeet made several 
desperate charges, but were finally obliged to retire. 
About a dozen of their number were killed and many 
more wounded. 

At the time of this battle the Blackfeet tribe were 
west of the Kocky Mountains, near the head waters 
of the Columbia, whither it is their custom to retire 
every spring. Those attacked by the Crows were 
consequently only an advanced party which had 
crossed the mountains earlier than usual. The Crows 
had themselves been driven into the neighbourhood 
where the fight occurred by the Sioux, who were 
out in great force against them. At other times when 
the Blackfeet are absent, they usually visit that sec- 
tion of country. About a fortnight before the fight, 
a small party of the Blackfeet had attacked the guard 
at fort F. A. C, (the trading post of the American 
Fur Company,) killed one man, seriously wounded 
another, and stole thirty horses. The whole afiair will 
serve to show the dangers to which the western set- 



419 



SAVAGE PATRIOTISM. 



tiers are exposed, as well as tlie condition of constant 
war and ferment in which the Indians of the great 
"West are still engaged. 



The following anecdote is given in " Notes on the 
Michigan Territory/' lately published : 

The Indians of Fond du Lac, a small village of 
about fifty men, from their pacific dispositions, were 
branded by their neighbours, the Sioux, with coward- 
ice. Feeling indignant at this, thirteen of them, 
without consulting their friends, who were then nego- 
tiating a peace with the Sioux, formed a league to 
rescue their tribe from the imputation on their cou- 
rage, and secretly penetrated into the Sioux country. 
Unexpectedly they came upon a party of one hun- 
dred Sioux, and began to prepare for battle ; but the 
Sioux, seeing their small number, advised them to 
return home ; that they admired their valour, and in- 
timated to them that, if they persisted, their destruc- 
tion was inevitable. The Fond du Lac Indians re- 
phed that they had set out with a determination to 
fight the first enemy they should meet, however un- 
equal their numbers might be, and would have en- 
tered their villages, if none had appeared sooner. 
They had resolved in this manner to show their 
brethren that the stigmas that were thrown upon 
them were unjust, " for no men were braver than 



420 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



their warriors/' and that they were ready and would 
sacrifice their lives in defence of the character of their 
''ribe. They encamped a short distance from the 
Sioux, and, during the night, dug holes in the ground, 
to which they might retreat and fight to the last ex- 
tremity. They appointed one of their number, the 
youngest, to take a station at a distance and witness 
the struggle, and instructed him to make his escape 
to their own country, when he had witnessed the 
death of all the rest, and state the circumstances 
under which they had fallen. 

Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in 
their camp, who, immediately sallying out upon them, 
forced them back to the last place of retreat they had 
resolved upon. They fought desperately, and more 
than twice their number were killed before they lost 
their lives. Eight of them were tomahawked in the 
holes to which they retreated, and the other four fell 
on the field ; the thirteenth returned home according 
to the directions he had received, and related the cir- 
cumstances to his tribe. They mourned their death ; 
but, delighted with the unexampled bravery of their 
friends, they were happy in their grief. 




farmer's brother. 



421 




During the second war with England, the Seneca 
nation of Indians, who reside in the neighbourhood 
of Buffalo, were employed by the American govern- 
ment, and attached themselves to the army, then 
about to enter Canada, under the command of Gene- 
ral Brown. The principal chief of this tribe was 
called ^'Farmers Brother" a stout, athletic warrior. 
The frosts of more than eighty winters had passed 
over his head, and yet he retained his faculties in an 
eminent degree. He possessed all the ardour of his 
young associates, and was uncommonly animated at 
the prospect which a fresh harvest of laurels pre- 
sented to his mind. 

This celebrated chief, in the war between England 
and France, was engaged in the service of the latter. 
He once pointed out to the writer of this account 

2N 



422 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



the spot where, with a party of Indians, he lay in 
ambush — patiently waiting the approach of a guard 
that accompanied the English teams employed be- 
tween the Falls of Niagara and the British garrison. 
The fort there had surrendered to Sir William John- 
ston. The place selected for that purpose is now 
known by the name of the " Devil's Hole/' and is 
three and a half miles below the famous cataract 
upon the United States side of the strait. The mind 
can scarcely conceive a more dismal-looking den. A 
large ravine, occasioned by the falling in of the per- 
pendicular bank, made dark by the spreading branches 
of the birch and cedar, which had taken root below, 
and the low murmurings of the rapids in the chasm, 
added to the solemn thunder of the cataract itself, 
conspire to render the scene truh" awful. The Eng- 
lish party were not aware of the dreadful fate which 
awaited them. Unconscious of danger, the drivers 
were gayly whistling to their dull ox-teams. On then' 
arrival at this spot, Farmer's Brother and his band 
rushed from the thicket that had concealed them, and 
commenced a horrid butchery. So unexpected was 
the event, and so completely were the English de- 
prived of all presence of mind, but a feeble resistance 
was made. The guard, the teamsters, the oxen, and 
the wagons v/ere precipitated into the gulf But two 
of them escaped. A Mr. Stedman, who lived at 
Schlosser, above the Falls, being mounted on a fleet 
horse, made good his retreat ; also one of the soldiers, 
who was caught on the projecting root of a cedar, 
which sustained him until assured by the distant yell 



farmer's brother. 



423 



of the savages they had quitted the ground. He 
then clambered up, and proceeded to Fort Niagara 
with the intelligence of the disaster. A small rivu- 
let, which pours itself down the precipice, was lite- 
rally coloured with the blood of the vanquished, and 
has ever since borne the name of "'The Bloody Rimr 
In the war of the Revolution, Farmer's Brothei 
evinced his hostihty to the Americans upon every 
occasion that occurred ; and with the same zeal he 
engaged in the late war against his former friends — 
the British. 

Another anecdote of this chief will show his 
promptness and decision of character. A short time 
before the United States army crossed the Niagara, 
Farmer's Brother chanced to observe an Indian who 
had mingled with the Senecas, and whom he in- 
stantly recognised as belonging to the Mohawks, a 
tribe living in Canada, and then employed in the ene- 
my's- service. He went up to him and addressed him 
in the Indian tongue : — " I know you well ; you be- 
long to the Mohawks — you are a spy ; here is my 
rifle — my tomahawk — my scalping knife — I give you 
your choice ; which of them shall I use ? — but I am 
in haste !" The young warrior, finding resistance 
vain, chose to be despatched with the rifle. He was 
ordered to lie upon the grass, while, with the left foot 
upon the breast of his victim, the chief lodged the 
contents of the rifle in his head. It should be re- 
membered that this proceeding was not at all incon- 
sistent with the practice of civilized nations in the 



424 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



case of a spy. On proof of the fact, he is put to 
death. 

Farmer's Brother possessed many estimable traits 
of character. He was as firm a friend, where he 
promised fidelity, as a bitter enemy to those against 
whom he contended, and would rather lose the last 
drop of his blood than betray the cause he had 
espoused. He was fond of recounting his exploits, 
and, savage-like, dwelt with much satisfaction upon 
the number of scalps he had taken in his skirmishes 
with the whites. 

In company with several other chiefs, he once paid 
a visit to General Washington, who presented him 
with a silver medal. This he constantly wore sus- 
pended from his neck, and so precious was the gift in 
his eyes, that he often declared he would lose it only 
with his life. Soon after the battles of Chippewa 
and Bridgewater, this veteran paid the debt of nature 
at the Seneca village, and, out of respect to his 
bravery, he was there interred with military honours 
from the fifth regiment of United States Infantry. 



In the northern part of the American continent, 
the subterraneous retreats of the black bear may be 
easily discovered by the mist which uniformly hangs 
about the entrance of the den, as the animal's heat 
and breathing prevent the mouth of the cave from 



INDIAN BEAR HUNT. 



427 



being entirely closed, however deep tlie snow may 
be. As the black bear usually retires to his winter 
quarters before any quantity of snow has fallen, and 
does not again venture abroad till the end of March 
or the beginning of April, he therefore spends at 
least four months in a state of torpidity, and without 
obtaining food. It is therefore not very surprising, 
though the bear goes into his winter quarters exces- 
sively fat, that he should come forth in the spring a 
melancholy picture of emaciation. 

The black bear is sometimes destroyed by blocking 
up the mouth of the cave with logs of wood, and 
then suddenly breaking open the top of it, they kill the 
animal with a spear or gun. This method is, however, 
considered both cowardly and wanton, as the bear can 
neither escape nor offer the slightest injury to his 
merciless destroyers. The northern Indians display 
great ingenuity in the manner in which they throw 
the noose around the neck of this -animal; but the 
barbarous way in which they despatch him with the 
hatchet or tomahawk, after having drawn him to the 
top of his hole, has little in it to admire. 

Sometimes he is caught in traps, strong steel ones 
chained to a tree and laid in a path which has been 
partially stained with blood, by drawing a newly- 
killed carcass along it. At other times, a noose, sus- 
pended from a strong bough, is substituted for the trap, 
in a path similarly prepared. The bear, whose sense 
of smell is exceedingly keen, always follows upon 
the track along which a dead animal has been drawn, 



428 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



even although it has left no trace perceptible by the 
human senses. 

The common mode of hunting this bear is by two 
or three well-trained dogs. When he finds that he is 
pursued, he generally pushes forward for eight or ten 
miles, and sometimes more, in nearly a straight course. 
But when the dogs come up to him, he turns and 
strikes at them with his paws, the blows of which 
are so severe, that one of them, taking effect, would 
instantly fell the strongest dog to the ground. The 
great art in training the dogs consists in teaching them 
to avoid these blows, and keep harassing the animal 
till he is exhausted. When that is the case, he climbs 
a tree to the height of twenty or thirty feet, at the 
root of which the dogs remain ind " give tongue" till 
the hunter makes his appearance. When the hunter 
appears, the bear drops to the ground, not for the 
purpose of attacking him, but of making a new effort 
at escape from the now increased number of his pur- 
suers. But, as he is heated by the effort of climbing 
and by the fall, though bears, from their form and 
also the nature of their covering, fall with much less 
injury than any other animals of the same weight, he 
is much more annoyed by the dogs than before. This 
makes him take to a tree again for refuge. He then 
climbs as high as it will bear him, and endeavours to 
conceal himself among the thick foliage. The hunter 
now strikes against the trunk of the tree as if he 
were felling it, which soon puts the bear in motion. 
He makes his way to the extremity of a long and 
lofty branch, at which he draws himself partially into 



THE CATASTROPHE. 



429 



the form of a ball, and drops down often from such a 
height as that he rebounds up again for several feet, 
as if he were an elastic substance. He rises again 
from this fall, still uninjured, and seeks safety by 
flight as before. His exertions are, however, so much 
greater than those of his pursuers, that, whatever 
may be his strength, they in time wear him out, and 
he is ultimately shot, either when standing up to give 
battle to the dogs, or when attempting to hide himself 
behind the trunk of a tree. Such is the mode of 
bear-hunting where there are trees ; but, in the large 
open prairies, he runs much farther, and the hunt is 
one of greater ardour, unless when he is shot at an 
early stage. But, if the marksman is not skilful, 
shooting is rather a dangerous matter while the bear 
is unexhausted, as the pain arouses all his strength, 
and arms him with the most desperate powers of re- 
venge, so that he would be too much both for dogs 
and hunter. 



The son of a Kickapoo chief, being engaged to a 
Wiattanon girl, came in quest of her to Fort Knox, 
at Yincennes — though an Indian war was then wag- 
ing against the United States ; and, in this, the Kicka- 
poos were among the most formidable. We happened 
to be there at this time. It was summer, and the 
weather very warm. The young Kickapoo was ad- 
mitted into the fort, and, among other presents, threw 
down several joints of venison ; observing to the com 
manding officer, that, if he could not eat them him- 



430 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



self, (for they were tainted,) they might answer for 
his Jiogs and dogs^ — muttering, at the same time, and 
making the sign of a halter round his neck, that per- 
haps they might hang him for appearing among them, 
(alluding, no doubt, to the then Indian war.) 

On the evening of the same day the young Kicka- 
poo got into a drunken frolic with other savages, 
among whom was a Wiattanon. The latter said to 
the Kickapoo, " May be I shall kill you :" and, with- 
out further preface, he plunged a knife into him — 
which instantly proved fatal. At this moment the 
Wiattanons in company took the alarm — fearful of 
the consequences that might befall their tribe, from 
the death of the son of a powerful chieftain. It was 
therefore determined to propitiate the Kickapoo's 
father, by sending a deputation to him with the pre- 
sent of a ten gallon keg of whisky as a peace-offering. 
This was furnished for the purpose, on request, by the 
commanding officer of the fort. They had not gone 
far when the precious liquor proved too great a temp- 
tation : the keg was broached, and soon emptied. 
What then was to be done ? 

Next morning, however, they appeared again at 
the fort — deplored the " accident^'' (as they called it,) 
and begged for another keg of liquor. This too was 
granted — and off they went again. But this keg met 
with the fate of the former : its contents proved an 
irresistible temptation. As no more whisky could 
now be obtained, the mission fell through. 



* Appellations the Indians bestow upon menial servants. This 
savours strongly of the pride of independence. 



THE CATASTROPHE. 



431 



Upon this, the Indians appeared before the fort, 
with the murderer in custody, under the window of 
the writer,* and demanded justice to be done on the 
prisoner. He told them it was an affair for them- 
selves to settle, as it was confined to themselves alone. 
They now marched in Indian file, carrying off the 
murderer, who, every now and then, looked fearfully 
behind him — for the brother of the deceased's sweet- 
heart had taken post next in his rear. They had not 
proceeded far, when this brother plunged a knife into 
the prisoner's back, which broke, and a part was left 
buried in the wound. The whole party now returned 
before the fort — the wounded man singing his death- 
song. He was borne off by his friends into a thicket, 
in the prairie, where all their efforts to extract the 
broken blade proved ineffectual ; and the next day or 
two he died. 

The Spider, a brother of the murderer, and then 
at Kaskaskia, hearing of the predicament which had 
befallen the latter, hastened to Yincennes ; but death 
had closed the scene. He came in time, however, to 
attend the funeral. When the body was about to be 
consigned to the earth, he opened the blanket which 
enveloped the corpse, and taking off a silver orna- 
ment which encompassed his head, he bound it around 
that of the defunct, saying, " There, brother ! this 
will bring you respect in the land of spirits." 

* He was a judge of the supreme court of the North-western Ter- 
ritory, and then upon the circuit to open the courts through that 
extensive region. 



432 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 




The following was communicated to the Cincinnati 
v^xironicle, in the autumn of 1829, by a gentleman, in 
substance, as related below. He received it from the 
mouth of Ash himself, who resides on the Ohio, in 
Indiana, upon lands first presented to him by the 
Indians, and afterwards confirmed, in jfart, by Con- 
gress — he jpaying for the same. We copy it from Tur- 
ner's Traits of Indian Character : 

" My father, John Ash, was one of the earliest 
emigrants to Kentucky, and settled near Bardstown, 
Nelson county, many miles from any other white 
settlement. In the month of March, 1780, when I 
was about ten years of age, we were attacked by the 
Shawnee Indians ; a part of the family was killed, the 
rest were taken prisoners. We were separated from 
each other, and, excepting a younger sister, who was 
taken by the same party that had me in possession, I 
saw none of my family for seventeen years. 



STORY OF GEORGE ASH. 



433 



" My sister was small; they carried her two or three 
days, but she cried, and gave them trouble, and they 
tomahawked and scalped her, and left her lying on 
the ground. I was, after this, transferred from one 
family to another, several times, and treated harshly, 
and called a ' white dog,' till at length I was domesti- 
cated in a family, and considered a member of it. 
After this, my treatment was like that of other chil- 
dren of the tribe. 

" The Shawnees, at this time, lived on the Big 
Miami, about twenty miles above Dayton. Here we 
continued until General Clark came out, and attacked 
us, and burnt our town. We then removed to St. 
Mary's, and continued there about two years. After 
this, we removed to Fort Wayne, on the Maumee ; 
here we were attacked by General Harmar ; we then 
removed to the Anglaize River, and continued there 
some years. While there. General St. Clair came out 
against us. Eight hundred and fifty warriors went 
out to meet him, and on their way were joined by 
fifty Kickapoos. 

"The two armies met about two hours before sun- 
set. When the Indians were within about half a mile 
of St. Clair, the spies came running back to inform 
us, and we stopped. We concluded to encamp; Mt 
was too late,' they said, ^to begin the play,' they would 
defer the sport till next morning. 

" General Blue J acket was our commander. After 

dark, he called all the chiefs around him, to listen to 

what he had to say. ' Our fathers,' said he, ' used to 

do as we now do ; our tribes used to fight other tribe 
r>5 2 0 



434 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



—they could trust to their own strength and their 
numbers ; but in this conflict, we have no such re- 
liance ; our power and our numbers bear no compari- 
son to those of our enemy, and we can do nothing, 
unless assisted by our Great Father above. I pray 
now,' continued Blue Jacket, raising his eyes to 
heaven, ' that he will be with us to-night, and (it was 
now snowing) that to-morrow, he will cause the sun 
to shine out clear upon us, and we will take it as a 
token of good, and we shall conquer.' " 

Blue Jacket appears to have been a priest, as well 
as a warrior. 

"About an hour before day, orders were given for 
every man to be ready to march. On examination, 
it was found that three fires, or camps, consisting of 
fifty Pottawattomies, had deserted us. We marched 
till we got within sight of the fires of St. Clair ; then 
General Blue Jacket began to talk, and to sing a 
hymn, as Indians sing hymns." Here the narrator 
mentioned some ceremony, that I did not well under- 
stand. " The fight commenced, and continued for an 
hour or more, when the Indians retreated. As they 
were leaving the ground, a chief, by the name of 
Black Fish, ran in among them, and, in the voice of 
thunder, asked them what they were doing, where 
they were going, and who had given them orders to 
retreat ? This called a halt, and he proceeded in a 
strain of the most impassioned eloquence, to exhort 
them to courage, and to ^ deeds of daring,' and con- 
cluded with saying, ^ that whatever the determination 
of others might be, he knew not, but, for himself, his 



STORY OF GEORGE ASH. 



435 



determination was, to conquer or die ! ' You who are 
like-minded, follow me !' and they raised the war- 
whoop — which is, ' we conquer or die /' 

^' The attack was most impetuous, and the carnage, 
for a few moments, shocking. Many of the Indians 
threw away their guns, leaped in among the Ameri- 
cans, and did the butchery with a tomahawk. In a 
few moments, the Americans gave way ; the Indians 
took possession of the camp and the artillery, spiked 
the guns, and parties of Indians followed the retreat- 
ing army many miles. Eleven hundred Americans 
were left dead on the field. The number of Indians 
killed, together with those who afterwards died of 
their wounds, amounted to only thirty-five I 

" In this battle, a ball passed through the back of 
Ash's neck; he fell, and says, his recollection re- 
turned while an Indian was carrying him away on his 
back." 

Many years afterwards. Ash ascertained that he 
had a brother in St. Clair's army, who was killed in 
this battle. Who can say that he did not direct the 
ball that did the fatal work ? — for, all who have seen 
Ash will allow that he was not a man to be idle in 
battle. 

" After this battle, I started, with eight others, on 
an embassy to the Creek Nation. Our object was, to 
renew the friendly relations between that nation and 
our own tribe, and two of our number were regularly 
accredited ambassadors, for that purpose. We made 
a visit of a year, and were successful in the objects of 
our mission. The nations north of the Ohio were 



436 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



desirous of strengthening themselves against the 
whites, by foreign alliances. 

" While we were absent, our tribe had had a battle 
with the whites, near Fort Hamilton. The Ameri- 
can army was commanded, I think, by General 
Bradley. 

"After our return, Wayne came out against us 
with eight thousand men. We sent out runners to 
all nations, to collect together warriors, and soon an 
army of fifteen hundred men was in the field. We 
marched on to meet Wayne, who then lay at Fort 
Recovery. We took one of Wayne's spies in our 
march — a Chickasaw. He was taken to the Indian 
army, that he might give us some account of Wayne's 
movements. But the Indians were so enraged at him, 
for his treachery, that they fell upon him, in the midst 
of his narrative, and killed him. Our army was then 
in great want of provisions. The Chippewai/ Indians 
cut Mm up, roasted, and ate him, 

" Near Fort Recovery we met a party of the Ameri- 
can army, and fought them — without much success — 
and returned home. Wayne marched on the towns, 
and only three hundred warriors could be mustered to 
meet him. We went out, however, and fought him 
in two battles, within three days of each other. 
These battles were fought near Fort Wayne, and the 
place where they were fought are not more than five 
miles from each other. The Indians were, in fact, 
conquered, and the war ended. General Blue Jacket 
that winter hoisted the flag of truce, and marched 
into Greenville to treat with Wayne." 



STORY OF GEORGE ASH. 



437 



We are all familiarly acquainted with the history 
of these Indian wars — of the gallant, but unfortunate 
St. Clair — and of the chivalrous and successful Wayne. 
This, for aught I know, is the first Indian account of 
these transactions that has appeared; and, if it is 
correct — and I have abundant reason to think it is — 
it must go, at least, to diminish our censure of St. 
Clair, if it does not detract from the credit of Wayne. 
St. Clair suffered himself to be surprised by the In- 
dians in their own territory — a fault which Washing- 
ton thought admitted of no excuse ; besides, his army 
exceeded the enemy's in numbers. But, when we 
take into consideration his ignorance of Indian war- 
fare, and that he had to fight them in their own 
wilds, we must acknowledge the disparity was not 
very great. By their own showing, likewise, their 
army consisted of nearly a thousand men — and such 
men as are not easily conquered by any force — for 
their motto was " We conquer, or die." 

Ash had now been wdth the savages seventeen 
years. He had long identified himself with them, 
spoke their language perfectly, and had almost for- 
gotten his own ; and had adopted their dress, and all 
their modes of life. His right ear is fixed in a pe- 
culiar manner for the purpose of wearing jewels. 
The edge of the ear, about a third of an inch deep, 
is cut off, excepting at the ends where the ear joins 
the head. This rim hangs down on the face, and 
serves as a kind of loop. The parting gristle of the 
nose is perforated; there is likewise a hole in his left 
ear. I made some inquiries as to his painting. He 

2 0 2 



438 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



said he painted, and wore about a hundred, dollars' 
worth of silver in ornaments, when he visited the 
ladies. In his nose, he wore three silver crosses and 
seven half moons, valued from five to six hundred 
dollars ; and, as he proceeded to describe his decora- 
tions for these excursions of gallantry, and the re- 
ception he met with, I could not but reflect upon the 
effect which ornament has with the fair in all ages 
and among all nations. 

" After peace," proceeded he, " I told the Indians I 
wanted to go to the white settlements, and see if any 
of my family were living. They, at first, made ob- 
jections, but finally consented; and, in full dress, 
with a good horse, a good gun, and a good hunting 
dog, I started for Fort Pitt. 

" Having travelled alone fourteen days in the wil- 
derness, I arrived at my place of destination. I there 
found a brother, and learned that my father was still 
living in Kentucky. After staying some time at Fort 
Pitt, I was employed by a gentleman as a guide 
through the wilderness to Detroit. When we arrived 
in the neighbourhood of Detroit, I told my employer 
iie might go on, and that I would spend the winter 
among the Indians with my wife : for I had taken a 
wife before I left them. He called for me in the 
spring, and we returned to Fort Pitt together. 

" I there sold my horse, and proceeded down' the 
Ohio river in a boat, with the intention of visiting 
my father. I arrived at his house in the night, called 
him up, and requested entertainment for the night. 
He denied such a request to no man, whoever he 



STORY OF GEORGE ASH. 



439 



might be, but evidently was not much, pleased with 
my appearance, for I was still in my Indian costume, 
and could speak but a few words of English. 

" He paid me but little attention, gave a servant 
some orders about my lodging, and was about retiring 
to bed, when I drew him into a conversation, by ask- 
ing some questions about his family. I asked him if 
he had not a son George (many years before) taken by 
the Indians. He replied that he had — that he had 
heard he was in St. Clair's defeat, and was killed. I 
assured him that the report was incorrect, and that 
I knew something of his son. He asked with eager- 
ness where he was. I replied, ' He now stands before 
you.' He looked at me with searching scrutiny for a 
few moments, and commenced pacing the room. He 
walked up and down the room for two hours, before 
he uttered another syllable. ' Would you know your 
brother Henry,' said he, at last, 4f you should see 
him ?' I told him ' No :-— for he was a mere infant 
when I went away.' He thought I should, and, 
though late in the evening, rode several miles to 
bring him." 

In this part of the narration I perceived that Ash's 
eyes grew moist, and that his voice was husky. He 
rose to depart, but, by some entreaty, he was induced 
to return, and continue his tale. 

" My father," said he, " had become wealthy, pos- 
sessing negroes and fine horses in abundance. But 
my mother was dead, and my father had married a 
second wife, who was not backward in letting me 
know that that was no place for me. 



440 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



" I started again for the Indian country, crossed the 
Ohio, and pitched my camp on the spot where my 
house now stands, on the bank of the Ohio, exactly 
opposite the mouth of the Kentucky. 

"After hunting for some time, I determined to 
make another visit to my red brethren, and a friend 
gave me a horse to ride. I found them preparing a 
deputation for their great father, the President, and 
nothing would do but that I should make one of the 
party. With a number of chiefs I set out for Phila- 
delphia, and, after visiting the President and all the 
great people there, and by them, no doubt, thought a 
very good Indian, I returned to my old camp, where 
I now live. 

"Asa compensation for my services on this mission, 
the Indians granted me a tract of land, opposite the 
mouth of the Kentucky, four miles in length on the 
river, and one mile back. When the territory was 
ceded to the United States, the Indians neglected to 
reserve my grant. I had cultivated some parts of my 
land, and it was worth more than the government 
price. It was offered for sale, and I petitioned Con- 
gress to secure to me what was in fact my own. They 
denied me the request, but permitted me to purchase 
as much as I could at the government price ! 

" I had considered myself rich in lands, but I was 
poor in cash, and my domain was reduced to about 
two hundred acres. On this I have lived ever since ; 
and this completes the history of George Ash." 



THE SIOUX AND CHIEF WAHKTAGELI. 441 




From the Travels of Maximilian, Prince of Wied. 

The Dacotas, or Sioux, called by the Ojibuas or 
Chippeways, Nandoesi, or Nadowassis, are still one 
of the most numerous Indian tribes in North 
America. Pike stated their number at 21,575 souls, 
and they are still reckoned at 20,000; nay, some 
even affirm that they are still able to furnish 15,000 
warriors, which seems rather too high an estimate. 
Major Long, who gives much information respecting 
this people, calculates their number at 28,100, of 
which 7,055 are warriors, the nation possessing 
2,330 tents, which agrees pretty nearly with the 
statements we received on the Missouri. If we 
add the Assiniboins, who are of the same origin, and 

56 



442 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



who are estimated at 28,000, we shall have for all 
the Dacotas 56,100 souls, of whom 14,055 are war- 
riors, and the number of their tents 5,330. Major 
Long is of opinion that they cannot be calculated at 
less than 25,000 souls and 6,000 warriors; 20,000 
is, therefore, not too high an estimate. 

The territory which they inhabit extends from Big 
Sioux River, between the Missouri and the Missis- 
sippi, down the latter to Rock river, and northwards 
to Elk river; then westwards, in a line which in- 
cludes the sources of St. Peter's river, and reaches 
the Missouri below the Mandan villages, stretches 
down it, crosses it near Hart river, and includes the 
whole country on the western bank to the Black Hills 
about Teton river as far as Shannon river. The 
Sioux are divided into several branches, which all 
speak the same language, with some deviations. 
Three principal branches live on the Missouri, viz. 
the Yanktons or Yanktoans, the Tetons or Titoans, and 
the Yanktonans or Yanktoanons. The Mende-Wa- 
kan-Toann, or the people of the Spirit Lake, and 
some others, live on the Mississippi. All these 
branches together are, as Major Long says, divided 
by the traders into two great classes — the Gens du 
Lac and the Gens du Large ; i. e. those who live 
near the Spirit Lake, and are now chiefly found 
on the banks of the Mississippi, and those who roam 
about in the prairies. The Yanktoanons are said to 
constitute one-fifth of all the Dacotas, and the Tetons 
the half of the whole nation. 

The Dacotas roam as far as the territory of the 



THE SIOUX AND CHIEF WAHKTAGELl. 443 



Puncas, over the Black Hills, to the Arkansas, and 
westwards to the Rocky Mountains into the territory 
of the Crows, on the Yellow Stone river, &c. Pike 
makes them, as well as the Pawnees, descend from 
the Tartars ; but many objections may be made to 
this notion, as the affinity of the North Americans 
and the people of Asia is not proved, and the resem- 
blance between them appears to be very limited. In 
general, these Indians have more strongly-marked 
countenances and higher cheek-bones than many 
other tribes on the Missouri, nor are their features so 
regular or pleasing ; yet there is no considerable dif- 
ference in their physiognomy. Bradbury says they 
are much inferior in stature to the Osages, Mandans, 
and Puncas, and by no means so robust ; but this 
assertion must be very much restricted, because there 
are many tall men among the Dacotas. The Yank- 
tons live in Sioux Agency, or the furthest down the 
Missouri, among which tribe we now were. All these 
Dacotas of the Missouri, as well as most of those of 
the Mississippi, are only hunters, and, in their excur- 
sions, always live in portable leather tents. Only 
two branches of them are exceptions to this rule, 
especially the Wahch-Pe-Kutch, on the Mississippi, 
who cultivate maize and other plants, and therefore 
live in fixed villages. All these Indians have great 
numbers of horses and dogs, the latter of which 
often serve them as food. The Dacotas, on the Mis- 
souri, were formerly dangerous enemies to the whites. 
Bradbury calls them blood-thirsty savages ; whereas 
now, with the exception of the Yanktonans, they 



444 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



bear a very good character, and constantly keep peace 
with the whites. Pike seems to have too high an 
idea of their valour ; at least this is the opinion now 
entertained on the Missouri. Such of these Indians 
as reside near the whites are frequently connected 
with them by marriages, and depend on them for 
support. They then become negligent hunters, in- 
dolent, and consequently poor. This was partly the 
case at Sioux Agency, where they rarely possessed 
more than two horses. One of the most considerable 
men among them, wholly devoted to the whites, was 
Wahktageli, called the Big Soldier, a tall, good-look- 
ing man, about sixty years of age, with a high aqui- 
line nose and large animated eyes. Besides him, 
there were several elderly, and some slender young 
men of this nation here. They had, in general, a 
rather narrow, oval countenance ; narrow, long eyes, 
and aquiline, or straight, well-formed noses; their 
colour was a dark brown. They wore their hair 
hanging down long over the shoulders, and often 
platted en queue; the older men, however, let it hang 
loosely, cut ojff a little below the neck, and turned 
back from the forehead. Younger people generally 
wore it parted, a large lock hanging down on the 
nose. Young men had the upper part of the body 
only wrapped in their large white or painted buffalo 
hides. They had long strings of blue and white 
wampum shells in their ears. Some of them wore 
one, two, or three feathers, which were partly stripped 
till towards the point. 

Mr. Bodmer having expressed a wish, immediately 



THE SIOUX AND CHIEF WAHKTAGELI. 445 



on the arrival of the Big Soldier, to paint his portrait 
at full length, he appeared in his complete state dress. 
His face was painted red with vermilion, and with 
short, black, parallel, transverse stripes on the cheeks. 
On his head he wore long feathers of birds of prey, 
which were tokens of his warlike exploits, particu- 
larly of the enemies he had slain. They were fast- 
ened in a horizontal position with strips of red cloth. 
In his ears he wore long strings of blue glass beads ; 
and on his breast, suspended from his neck, the great 
silver medal of the United States. His leather leg- 
gins, painted with dark crosses and stripes, were very 
neatly ornamented with a broad embroidered stripe 
of yellow, red, and sky-blue figures, consisting of 
dyed porcupine quills ; and his shoes were adorned in 
the same manner. His buffalo robe was tanned 
white, and he had his tomahawk or battle-axe in his 
hand. (See his portrait, which is a striking likeness, 
in the frontispiece to this volume.) He appeared to 
stand very willingly as a model for Mr. Bodmer, and 
remained the whole day in the position required, 
which, in general, the Indians find it difficult to do. 
The remainder of these people were now entirely 
without ornaments, naked, and the upper parts of 
their bodies not at all painted, but only wrapped in 
their buffalo robes. On their backs they carried their 
quivers, which were made of leather, in which their 
arrows are kept. They carry their bows in their hands. 

The features of the women resembled, on the 
whole, those we have already described; yet, their 
faces, for the most part, were not so broad and flat as 

2P 



446 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



those of the Saukies or Musquake women, and some 
were even pretty. The tents of the Sioux are high 
pointed cones, made of strong poles, covered with 
buffalo skins, closely sewed together. These skins 
are scraped on both sides, so that they become as 
transparent as parchment, and give free admission to 
the light. At the top, where the poles meet, or cross 
each other, there is an opening to let out the smoke, 
which they endeavour to close by a piece of the skin 
covering of the tent, fixed to a separate pole standing 
upright, and fastened to the upper part of the cover- 
ing on the side from which the wind blows. The 
door is a slit in the front of the tent, which is gene- 
rally closed by another piece of buffalo hide stretched 
upon a frame. A small fire is kept up in the centre 
of the tent. Poles are stuck in the ground near the 
tent, and utensils of various kinds are suspended 
from them. There are, likewise, stages on which to 
hang the newly-tanned hides ; others, with gayly- 
painted parchment pouches and bags, on some of 
which they hang their bows, arrows, quivers, leather- 
shields, spears, and war-clubs. 

We paid a visit to Wahktageli in his tent, and had 
some difficulty in creeping into the narrow, low en- 
trance, after pulling aside the skin that covered it. 
The inside of this tent was light, and it was about 
ten paces in diameter. Buffalo skins were spread on 
the ground, upon which we sat down. Between us 
and the side of the tent were a variety of articles, 
such as pouches, boxes, saddles, arms, &c. A rela- 
tion of the chief was employed in making arrows, 



BC 1 0 5 



THE SIOUX AND CHIEF WAHKTAGELI. 447 



which were finished very neatly and with great care. 
Wahktageh immediately, with much gravity, handed 
the tobacco-pipe round, and seemed to inhale the pre- 
cious smoke with great delight. His wife was pre- 
sent; their children were married. The conversa- 
tion was carried on by Cephier, the interpreter kept 
by the Agency, who accompanied us on this visit. 
It is the custom with all the North American In- 
dians, on paying a visit, to enter in perfect silence, 
to shake hands with the host, and unceremoniously 
sit down beside him. Refreshments are then pre- 
sented, which the Big Soldier could not do, as he him- 
self stood in need of food. After this the pipe circu- 
lates. The owner of a neighbouring tent had killed 
a large elk, the skin of which the women were then 
busily employed in dressing. They had stretched it 
out, by means of leather straps, on the ground near 
the tent, and the women were scraping off the parti- 
cles of flesh and fat with a very well-contrived in- 
strument. It is made of bone, sharpened at one end 
and furnished with little teeth like a saw, and at the 
other end a strap, which is fastened round the wrist. 
The skin is scraped with the sharp side of this instru- 
ment till it is perfectly clean. Several Indians have 
iron teeth fixed to this bone. Besides this operation, 
we took particular notice of the harness of the dogs 
and horses, hanging up near the tent, both these ani- 
mals being indispensable to the Indians to transport 
their baggage on their journeys. Even tlie great tent, 
with many long, heavy poles, is carried by horses, as 
well as the semi-globular, transparent wicker pan- 



448 



THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



iiiersj under which the little children are protected 
against sun and rain by spreading blankets and skins 
over them. Smaller articles are conveyed by the dogs. 
Many of the Sioux are rich, and have twenty or more 
horses, which they obtained originally from the Span- 
iards on the Mississippi and the frontier of New Mexi- 
co on the Oregon ; but which are now found in great 
numbers among the several Indian nations. One 
of their most important employments is to steal 
horses ; and the theft of one of these animals from 
another nation is considered as an exploit, and as 
much, nay more honoured than the killing of an 
enemy. The dogs, whose flesh is eaten by the Sioux, 
are equally valuable to the Indians. In shape, they 
differ very little from the wolf, and are equally large 
and strong. Some are of the real wolf colour ; others 
black, white, or spotted with black and white, and 
differing only by the tail being rather more turned 
up. Their voice is not a proper barking, but a howl, 
like that of the wolf, and they partly descend from 
wolves, which approach the Indian huts even in the 
daytime and mix with the dogs. 



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